Speech-Language Pathologists' Attitudes Towards People Who Stutter

This study explored the attitudes of speech-language pathologists (S-LP) towards people who stutter (PWS). A 14-item semantic differential scale was utilized to assess the S-LPs' attitudes towards PWS and people who do not stutter (PWDS). In addition, the effect of familiarity and experiences with PWS was analyzed. The results showed that S-LPs have rather positive attitudes towards both PWS and PWDS. In addition, results of a multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed that S-LPs perceived PWS more positively than PWDS on nine traits (sincere-insincere, likable-not likable, trustworthy-not trustworthy, physically normal-physically abnormal, reliable-unreliable, good sense of humor-poor sense of humor, mentally stable-mentally unstable, intelligent-unintelligent, and employable-unemployable). There appeared to be little effect for familiarity and experience with PWS on S-LPs' attitudes towards PWS.