The influence of self-help/support group experience on people who stutter: a systematic review

Many studies have reported that stuttering self-help/support groups have a positive psychological effect on people who stutter (PWS). This systematic review aims to identify and synthesize the published research articles that quantitatively investigate, with a control condition, the influence of the self-help/support group experience on PWS. The literature review was conducted on 6 July 2020 and updated on 14 April 2022. We searched the PubMed, Education Resources Information Center, Web of Science, and PsycINFO databases for articles containing the words 'stuttering' OR 'stammering' AND 'self-help' OR 'support group.' The inclusion criteria were: participants had a stutter, main text was in English, study used an experimental or quasi-experimental design, and the quantitative outcomes of the self-help/support group activities were measured. We collected the information and main findings of each article. Nine articles met all the inclusion criteria. Various questionnaires were used to measure the psychological aspects related to general characteristics of personality or stuttering. The effect of the self-help/support group experience varied; most articles reported positive effects, while some articles reported not significant or mixed effects. Our systematic review overviewed the previous quantitative studies and summarized the results of each psychological scale. Overall, the experience of stuttering self-help/support group had a positive psychological effect on PWS regarding their stuttering.