title: Public attitudes toward stuttering in Europe: Within-country and between-country comparisons.
abstract: Epidemiological research methods have been shown to be useful in determining factors that might predict commonly reported negative public attitudes toward stuttering. Previous research has suggested that stuttering attitudes of respondents from North America and Europe (i.e., "The West"), though characterized by stereotypes and potential stigma, are more positive than those from several other regions of the world. This inference assumes that public attitudes within various regions characterized by "The West" are similar.
  
  
  
  This study aimed to determine the extent to which public stuttering attitudes are similar or different both within regions of three different European countries and between or among five different European countries or similar geographic areas. It also aimed to compare these European attitudes to attitudes from 135 samples around the world using a standard measure.
  
  
  
  Using convenience sampling, 1111 adult respondents from eight different investigations completed the Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes-Stuttering (POSHA-S) in the dominant language of each country or area. In Study I, the authors compared attitudes within three different regions of Bosnia & Herzegovina, Italy, and Norway. In Study II, the authors compared attitudes between combined samples from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Italy, and Norway (with additional respondents from Sweden), and two other samples, one from Germany and the other from Ireland and England.
  
  
  
  Attitudes of adults from the three samples within Bosnia & Herzegovina, Italy, and Norway were remarkably similar. By contrast, attitudes between the five different countries or area were quite dramatically different. Demographic variables on the POSHA-S did not predict the rank order of these between-country/area differences. Compared to the POSHA-S worldwide database, European attitudes ranged from less positive than average (i.e., Italians) to more positive than average (i.e., Norwegians and Swedes).
  
  
  
  Factors related to national identity appear to play a significant role in differences in public attitudes in Europe and should be explored in future research.
authors.affiliation: West Virginia University, Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, 805 Allen Hall, PO Box 6122, Morgantown, WV 26506-6122, USA. Electronic address: ken.stlouis@mail.wvu.edu.
authors.forename: Kenneth O
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: St Louis
authors.affiliation: Statped, Department of Speech and Language Disorders, Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: hilda.sonsterud@statped.no.
authors.forename: Hilda
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sønsterud
authors.affiliation: University of Tuzla, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Electronic address: j.lejla@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Lejla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Junuzović-Žunić
authors.affiliation: CRC Balbuzie and University of Rome, Italy. Electronic address: d.tomaiuoli@crc-balbuzie.it.
authors.forename: Donatella
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tomaiuoli
authors.affiliation: CRC Balbuzie, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: f.delgado@crc-balbuzie.it.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Del Gado
authors.affiliation: CRC Balbuzie, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: e.caparelli@crc-balbuzie.it.
authors.forename: Emilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Caparelli
authors.affiliation: Rheinisch Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen (RWTH Aachen University), Germany. Electronic address: mareen.theiling@rwth-aachen.de.
authors.forename: Mareen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Theiling
authors.affiliation: Aakershagan Training and Activity Centre, Stange, Hedmark, Norway. Electronic address: cecilieflo@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Cecilie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Flobakk
authors.affiliation: The Special Pedagogical Team, Gran, Oppland, Norway. Electronic address: lise.nes@online.no.
authors.forename: Lise Nesbakken
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Helmen
authors.affiliation: Statped, Department of Speech and Language Disorders, Bergen, Norway. Electronic address: ragnhild.r.heitmann@statped.no.
authors.forename: Ragnhild R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Heitmann
authors.affiliation: Trondheim, Norway. Electronic address: hbknidaros@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Helene
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kvenseth
authors.affiliation: Lund University, Lund, Sweden. Electronic address: sofia.nilsson@med.lu.se.
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.affiliation: Speech-Language Pathology, Helsingborg Hospital, Helsingborg, Sweden. Electronic address: tobias.wetterling@skane.se.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wetterling
authors.affiliation: Lund University, Lund, Sweden. Electronic address: cecilia.lundstrom@med.lu.se.
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lundström
authors.affiliation: Wicklow Primary Healthcare Centre, Knockrobin, Wicklow Town, Ireland. Electronic address: ciaraann.daly@hse.ie.
authors.forename: Ciara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Daly
authors.affiliation: Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Electronic address: mleahy@tcd.ie.
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leahy
authors.affiliation: Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Thatcham, UK. Electronic address: laila_mallah@hotmail.co.uk.
authors.forename: Laila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tyrrell
authors.affiliation: University of Reading, Reading, UK. Electronic address: d.ward@reading.ac.uk.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.affiliation: University of York, York, UK. Electronic address: mw700@york.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Węsierska
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011639:Public Opinion; D013342:Stuttering / Q000208:ethnology*
keywords: Between-country; Europe; POSHA-S; Public attitudes; Stuttering; Within-country