Temperament characteristics of children with persistent and recovered stuttering: A longitudinal study*

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the temperament characteristics associated with stuttering subtypes (persistent and recovered) over time and the relationship between those characteristics and stuttering severity. This four-year longitudinal study covered 41 preschool children who stutter (CWS) and 30 preschool children who do not stutter (the CWNS group). At the final visit, 27 CWS were classified as the Recovered group and 14 CWS were classified as the Persistent group. Using the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire-Short Form, each participant’s temperament characteristics were measured twice: at one year and two years after the initial visit. The three subscale scores (Extraversion, Negative Affectivity, and Effortful Control) and the 15 component scores were analyzed, and they were used for between-group and between-visit comparisons. The Persistent group showed a significantly higher Negative Affectivity subscale score at every visit than the Recovered and CWNS groups. Within this subscale, significant group differences were found in the ‘Fear’ and ‘Anger/Frustration’ components, demonstrating that the Persistent group scored higher than the Recovered and CWNS groups. There was no significant correlation between the subscale and component scores and the stuttering severity scores within the Persistent group at any visit. These results support the proposition that these two stuttering subtypes have different temperament characteristics; they also imply that temperament might be influenced by stuttering experience over time.