Attitudes of Teachers, Students, and the Public Toward Stuttering in India: A Comparison.

Veerabhadrappa, Rakesh Chowkalli; Dhrruvakumar, Shubhaganga; Manjunatha, Chaithanyanayaka; Sulthana, Hani; Maruthy, Santosh; St. Louis, Kenneth O.

Purpose: People who stutter experience societal misconceptions and negative stereotypes due to cultural prejudices. The present study aimed to compare attitudes toward stuttering of Indian teachers, students, and members of the public and to further compare their attitudes to comparable samples regionally and internationally. Method: Five hundred eighteen adults completed the Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes--tuttering (POSHA-S), translated into Kannada, which was analyzed according to standard protocol. Summary and selected item scores were compared from samples of teachers (n = 125), students (n = 233), and the public (n = 160). Additionally, the scores were compared to those from South Asian samples and an international POSHA-S database. Results: Teachers in the current study had the most positive stuttering attitudes, followed by the public and then by students. The summary attitude scores obtained by all three groups were more positive attitudes compared to other South Asian samples and either similar to or slightly less positive than the international POSHA-S database average sample rating. Education and income were small but significant predictors of more--or less--positive attitudes, but gender, age, and familiarity with stuttering were not. Conclusions: While teachers demonstrated a greater understanding of stuttering compared to the public and students, the lack of understanding among the latter groups highlights the need for increased awareness and education about stuttering across various segments of society. Negative social reactions toward stuttering, observed in different cultural contexts, further emphasize the need for awareness about stuttering. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.27855195

INDIA; HEALTH literacy; PREJUDICES; STEREOTYPES; T-test (Statistics); DATA analysis; BIBLIOGRAPHIC databases; QUESTIONNAIRES; INTERVIEWING; DYSLEXIA; STATISTICAL sampling; SEX distribution; MENTAL illness; STUTTERING; PUBLIC opinion; ECONOMIC status; AGE distribution; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; SOCIAL attitudes; COLLEGE teacher attitudes; RESEARCH methodology; ONE-way analysis of variance; STATISTICS; STUDENT attitudes; PSYCHOLOGY of college students; COMPARATIVE studies; SOCIAL support; SOCIAL stigma; CULTURAL pluralism; EDUCATIONAL attainment; REGRESSION analysis; OBESITY; PSYCHOSOCIAL factors

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 2025, Vol 34, Issue 1, p261

1058-0360

Academic Journal

10.1044/2024_AJSLP-24-00204