The current applicants propose that the emotional reactions of children who stutter and their attempts to regulate these reactions contribute to the exacerbation and maintenance of their stuttering. The applicants' model of childhood stuttering suggests that subtle and not-so-subtle linguistic, motoric and communicative difficulties may initiate stuttering in a young child. Subsequently, the child reacts to instances of stuttering by becoming more aroused and reactive, and these reactions may or may not be modulated by the child's regulatory or coping skills. Our model predicts that levels of emotional reactivity and regulation/coping of children who stutter will differ from those of their normally fluent peers. We also predict that changes in emotional reactivity and regulation will be associated with changes in stuttering. We will examine the following hypotheses for 3- to 5-year-old children who do and do not stutter: (1) Are there naturally-occurring differences between children who do and do not stutter with regard to emotional reactivity and regulation as rated by parents and trained examiners (Proposed Study 1)? (2) Are there differences between children who do and do not stutter with regard to emotional reactivity and regulation during structured laboratory situations (Proposed Study 2)? (3) Does emotional reactivity differ between children who do and do not stutter when presented with arousing environmental stimulation and is reactivity associated with stuttering and other disfluencies (Proposed Study 3)? (4) Do experimental variations in emotion regulation influence stuttering for children who stutter (Proposed Study 4)? These studies are an initial attempt to relate emotional development and behavior to childhood stuttering when children are confronted with change or challenge. These interdisciplinary investigations - involving collaboration between developmental psychology and speech-language pathology- should help determine whether some children who stutter are less able to regulate distress or modulate their reactivity and clarify the link between emotional reactivity, regulation, and childhood stuttering. Results will ground the study of childhood stuttering within the broader context of childhood emotional development, and focus future research on issues that inform diagnostic and treatment protocols for childhood stuttering.
| Zengin-Bolatkale, Hatun; Conture, Edward G; Walden, Tedra A et al. (2018) Sympathetic arousal as a marker of chronicity in childhood stuttering. Dev Neuropsychol 43:135-151 |
| Choi, Dahye; Conture, Edward G; Tumanova, Victoria et al. (2018) Young children's family history of stuttering and their articulation, language and attentional abilities: An exploratory study. J Commun Disord 71:22-36 |
| Tumanova, Victoria; Choi, Dahye; Conture, Edward G et al. (2018) Expressed parental concern regarding childhood stuttering and the Test of Childhood Stuttering. J Commun Disord 72:86-96 |
| Buhr, Anthony P; Jones, Robin M; Conture, Edward G et al. (2016) The function of repeating: The relation between word class and repetition type in developmental stuttering. Int J Lang Commun Disord 51:128-36 |
| Choi, Dahye; Conture, Edward G; Walden, Tedra A et al. (2016) Emotional Diathesis, Emotional Stress, and Childhood Stuttering. J Speech Lang Hear Res 59:616-30 |
| Zengin-Bolatkale, Hatun; Conture, Edward G; Walden, Tedra A (2015) Sympathetic arousal of young children who stutter during a stressful picture naming task. J Fluency Disord 46:24-40 |
| Clark, Chagit E; Conture, Edward G; Walden, Tedra A et al. (2015) Speech-Language Dissociations, Distractibility, and Childhood Stuttering. Am J Speech Lang Pathol 24:480-503 |
| Millager, Ryan A; Conture, Edward G; Walden, Tedra A et al. (2014) Expressive Language Intratest Scatter of Preschool-Age Children Who Stutter. Contemp Issues Commun Sci Disord 41:110-119 |
| Clark, Chagit E; Conture, Edward G; Walden, Tedra A et al. (2013) Speech sound articulation abilities of preschool-age children who stutter. J Fluency Disord 38:325-41 |
| Ntourou, Katerina; Conture, Edward G; Walden, Tedra A (2013) Emotional reactivity and regulation in preschool-age children who stutter. J Fluency Disord 38:260-74 |
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