title: The Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes-Stuttering (POSHA-S) and Bipolar Adjective Scale (BAS): aspects of validity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In order to estimate instrument validity, attitudes toward stuttering measured by the newly developed Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes-Stuttering (POSHA-S) and the Woods and Williams (1976) semantic differential scale (referred to herein as the Bipolar Adjective Scale [BAS]) are compared in college students on one occasion as well as before and after coursework on fluency disorders.
  
  
  METHODS
  Undergraduate and graduate students (n=321) from four universities filled out online versions of the POSHA-S and BAS. Two-thirds were speech-language pathology (SLP) majors; one-third were students in other majors. A subset of the SLP students (n=35) filled out the two instruments again after 8-13 weeks of coursework on fluency disorders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Correlations between all ratings of the POSHA-S and BAS were run for the 321 students. Only 26% of the correlations were statistically significant (R ≥ ± 0.129), and the large majority of these reflected small relationships. POSHA-S ratings were correlated with up to 77% of the items of the BAS while BAS items were correlated with up to 45% of the POSHA-S ratings. After coursework on stuttering, students' attitudes improved on both instruments, but more on the POSHA-S than the BAS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Greater evidence of discriminant validity than convergent validity characterized the POSHA-S and BAS. Both measures showed improved attitudes after fluency disorders coursework, but more so for the POSHA-S, confirming previous reports of construct validity. The POSHA-S taps relevant constructs not included in the BAS, which provide advantages for intracultural, international, and other comparisons of public attitudes toward stuttering.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The reader will be able to: (1) describe differentiating characteristics of the POSHA-S and BAS as measures of public attitudes toward stuttering, (2) describe the overlap and lack of overlap in the constructs measured by POSHA-S and BAS, (3) describe discriminant versus convergent validity and (4) describe advantages of the POSHA-S and BAS in various types of comparative studies of stuttering attitudes.
authors.affiliation: West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA. Electronic address: kstlouis@wvu.edu.
authors.forename: Kenneth O
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: St Louis
authors.affiliation: University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD, USA.
authors.forename: Mandy J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Mercedes B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Ware
authors.affiliation: Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guendouzi
authors.affiliation: Touro College, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Isabella K
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Reichel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology; D011639:Public Opinion; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013342:Stuttering / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Attitudes; POSHA-S; Stuttering