موفقیت در تغییر نگرشها نسبت به لکنت زبان
Abstract
1- Introduction
2- Method
3- Results
4- Discussion
References
Assumptions to Improve Public Attitudes
The literature reporting public misinformation about stuttering and resulting stereotypes, stigma, and discrimination against those who stutter is voluminous (cf. reviews by Boyle & Blood, 2015; Gabel, 2015; Hughes, 2015; Langevin, 2015). Almost every exploratory study of public attitudes has ended with a call for education of the public about stuttering, with the stated or unstated assumption that providing accurate information about the disorder would be sufficient to improve public attitudes (e.g., Bellegarde, Mayo, St. Louis, Mayo, 2016; Cooper & Cooper, 1985; Dorsey & Guenther, 2000; Ham, 1990; Hughes, 2015; St. Louis, Przepiórka, et al., 2014; Xing Ming, Jing, Wen, & Van Borsel, 2001; Valente, St. Louis, Leahy, Hall, & Jesus, 2017). If such information were to be made available to the public, a further and often stated assumption is that the quality of life of children and adults who stutter would be improved as a result of growing up and/or living in a more accepting and informed society.
Investigations to Improve Stuttering Attitudes
Compared to studies that stopped at documenting negative attitudes, relative few investigations have attempted, experimentally, to improve them. In her review of the extant literature in 2013, Abdalla (2015) identified 15 such studies (Abdalla & St. Louis, 2014; Coleman et al., 2013; Delaney, 2001; Flynn & St. Louis, 2011; Gottwald et al., 2011; Gottwald, Kent, St. Louis, & Hartley, 2014; Hughes, Gabel, Roseman, & Daniels, 2015; Junuzović-Žunić et al., 2015; Leahy, 1994; Langevin & Prasad, 2012; Mayo, Mayo, Gentry, & Hildebrandt, 2008; McGee, Kalinowski, & Stuart, 1996; Reichel & St. Louis, 2004; Reichel & St. Louis, 2007; Snyder, 2001). Abdalla concluded that “Studies that have attempted to ameliorate negative stereotypes toward people who stutter have been inconclusive. Some have reported positive changes, while others have found either no shift in attitude or a change in the reverse direction (i.e., intervention allegedly reinforced the negative stereotypes)” (p. 117). Factors identified by Abdalla (2015) that should be considered in evaluating the research related to changing attitudes included: (a) specific constructs targeted for change; (b) prior exposure of participants to people who stutter; (c) selection criteria for participants; (d) mode of the intervention (e.g., video, coursework, or direct interaction with a stuttering person); (e) actual content of the stimuli provided; and (f) methods of design, analysis, and interpretation. Stressing that these factors are interrelated, she noted, “While the stimuli used to change attitudes may partially explain the lack of consensus in changing attitudes of fluent speakers toward stuttering, the stimuli adopted in a study must be meaningful for the target population” (p. 124, italics added). This implies that both characteristics of the interventions as well as characteristics of the persons targeted are important in explaining the success of attitude change endeavors.