Reliability, validity, and normative investigation of the Persian version of the Communication Attitude Test for Adults Who Stutter (BigCAT)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish normative and psychometric data for the Persian version of the Communication Attitude Test for Adults who Stutter (BigCAT) and to determine if there is a significant difference between the speech-associated attitude of Persian stuttering adults and their nonstuttering peers. The Persian BigCAT was administered to 90 people who stutter (PWS) and 90 people who do not stutter (PWNS). After the translation of the test and its equalization to Persian Language, content validity was determined by the opinions of experts. Then, the criterion validity with Erickson S24’s test of communication attitude was determined in people who stutter. The reliability was examined using Kuder-Richardson coefficient and test–retest correlations. The results showed that the mean BigCAT score of PWS was significantly higher than that of PWNS (p < .001). The Kuder-Richardson coefficient for PWS and PWNS was high (0.88 and 0.83, respectively). The test–retest correlations as measured by Intraclass Coefficient Correlation (ICC), was also strong (0.89). The present study suggests that the Persian BigCAT is a valid instrument and can be used for the pre, peri, and post-treatment assessment of speech-related attitude of those who stutter in Iran.

Keywords:

• Communication attitude test
• speech-associated attitude
• stuttering

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the individuals who participated in this study. We also thank the speech-language pathologists who introduced us to the PWS and who participated in the administration of the BigCAT.