The perceived impact of fluency on personalities of adults who stutter: implicit evidence of self-stigma

Abstract

Purpose

The NEO-FFI is an extensively used instrument that has been used to identify personality differences between those who stutter and matched controls or group norms. The goal of this study was to use the NEO-FFI to implicitly capture and quantify self-stigma related to personality in persons who stutter (PWS).

Methods

Thirty PWS completed the NEO-FFI twice; once as themselves and once while mentalizing (using theory of mind) to respond as though they did not stutter and had never stuttered, thus comparing their true personality to their perceived personality if they were fluent speakers. Compared to their true personalities, PWS perceived their fluent counterparts to be significantly less neurotic and more extroverted.

Results

The differences observed are somewhat analogous, though considerably larger in magnitude than personality differences that have previously been reported when comparing PWS to fluent controls or norms. Differences were interpreted to be due to “contrast effects” influencing the comparison. That is, PWS cognitively separated themselves from their fluent counterparts, seeing their true selves in a negative light compared to their fluent counterparts. This “us” vs. “them” separation is considered evidence of self-stigma related to personality in PWS.

Conclusions

The finding that the perceived differences were in the domains of Neuroticism and Extraversion is consistent with prevailing stereotypes about PWS and exemplifies how public stigma can become internalized. Clinical implications are discussed with respect to how similar theory of mind/social comparison exercises can be used in cognitive behavioral therapy to help identify and restructure negative thoughts and beliefs about stuttering.

Keywords:

• Stuttering
• personality
• stigma
• self-report
• social comparison
• theory of mind

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tricia Hedinger

Tricia Hedinger and Tim Saltuklaroglu are on faculty in the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Department at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center and work in the field of stuttering.

Kristen Eskridge

Tricia Hedinger and Tim Saltuklaroglu are on faculty in the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Department at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center and work in the field of stuttering.

Ellie Porter

Kristen Eskridge and Ellie Porter were UTHSC graduate students who helped with data collection and analysis.

Daniel Hudock

Kristen Eskridge and Ellie Porter were UTHSC graduate students who helped with data collection and analysis.

Tim Saltuklaroglu

Daniel Hudock is a researcher in stuttering at Idaho State University.