Anxiety and coping strategies in people who stutter

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ABSTRACTS

ANXIETY AND COPING STRATEGIES IN PEOPLE W H O STUTTER R. E Z R A T I - V I N A C O U R and I. L E V I N Tel Aviv, Israel

Researchers and clinicians disagree about the nature of the relationship between anxiety and stuttering. However, the question of the relationship between anxiety and coping strategies in people who stutter (PWS) has never been studied. Ninety-four males ages 18-43 years, half disfluent speakers and half fluent speakers, answered 3 questionnaires: Spielberger Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger et al., 1970), Speech Situation Checklist (SSC) (Brutten, 1985), and Communication Stress and Coping in Adult Stutterers (CSCS). The latter was developed for this study. Findings indicate that anxiety is a personality trait of PWS. Stress differentiates severe from mild stuttering, while coping does not. Thursday 0945 h-1000 h, Sal D/E

SEX DIFFERENCES IN COPING WITH STUTTERING T. G R E E N Oslo, Norway

The question of why there is a sex ratio in stuttering has been subjected to various speculations. Few authors, however, have related their explanations to differences in how women and men cope with the broader communicative consequences of their stuttering. In this study, 24 women and 48 men were classified according to the degree, to which they perceived they had coped with- the consequences of being a person who stutters. Results indicated that the impact of stuttering was greater for men than for women, but that women struggled more with compensating for the communicative consequences of their stuttering. Implications for the understanding of the sex ratio in stuttering are discussed. Thursday 1000 h-1015 h, Sal D/E