title: Phonetic complexity of words immediately following utterance-initial productions in children who stutter.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the present study was to analyze phonetic complexity in the speech of children who stutter in a manner distinct from previous research with specific emphasis on three methodological considerations: (1) analysis of the word immediately following the initial word in the utterance; (2) accounting for other additional linguistic and lexical factors; and (3) discrimination of disfluency types produced.
  
  
  METHODS
  Parent-child conversations were transcribed for 14 children who stutter (mean age=3 years, 7 months; SD=11.20 months) and coded for phonetic complexity using the Word Complexity Measure (WCM). Phonetic complexity of words immediately following the initial fluent or stuttered words of an utterance were included within binomial regression analyses, along with additional linguistic and lexical factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analyses indicate that the phonetic complexity of the second word of an utterance was not a significant contributor to the likelihood of whole- or part-word repetitions on the preceding initial word of the utterance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings support previous data that suggest the phonetic complexity of speech, at least as measured by the WCM, does not distinctly influence stuttered speech in preschool-age children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Louisiana State University, 63 Hatcher Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA. Electronic address: gcoals1@lsu.edu.
authors.forename: Geoffrey A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Coalson
authors.affiliation: Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station A1100, Austin, TX 78712, USA. Electronic address: courtney.byrd@austin.utexas.edu.
authors.forename: Courtney T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Byrd
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007802:Language; D008037:Linguistics; D008297:Male; D010700:Phonetics; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013060:Speech; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D013342:Stuttering / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Children; Phonetic complexity; Stuttering