Preliminary Investigation of the Relationship between the Temperament of Young Children Who Stutter and the Temperament of Their Parents

Abstract

Previous studies suggest temperamental differences between young preschool-age children who stutter and those who do not. It is also known that parental socialization plays a major role in the temperamental development of children. However, to-date, whether temperamental differences exist between parents of children who stutter and parents of those who do not is unknown. The nature of relational differences between parent-child temperament across talker groups is also unclear. The present preliminary study examined the relationship between the temperament of parents and the temperament of children who stutter (CWS) and children who do not stutter (CWNS). It was hypothesized that the temperament of CWS would differ significantly from CWNS and that the temperament of parents of CWS would differ significantly from parents of CWNS. Participants included 16 CWS and 16 CWNS (ages of 36 to 64 months) matched for age and gender. The primary parent for each child completed the Children's Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ) and the Adult Temperament Questionnaire (ATQ) that assessed factors of the temperament of the child and parent, respectively. Data was subjected to a series of t-tests and correlational analyses. Preliminary findings indicated no significant difference in the temperament of CWS and CWNS and no significant difference in the temperament of parents of CWS and parents of CWNS according to the ATQ. Relational differences were noted between some aspects of the CBQ and the ATQ scores for both talker groups. Preliminary findings suggest no temperamental differences between CWS and CWNS or their parents. However, findings do suggest relational differences in parental socialization of emotional development between CWS and CWNS. Results also suggest a need to make parents of children who stutter aware of the importance of modeling appropriate use of emotions in order to influence emotional development of their child.