Emotional reactions of people who stutter in difficult communication situations: a preliminary study

Purpose: Few studies have examined the emotional responses of adults who stutter (AWS) in specific situations. The aim of this study is to determine the emotions of AWS in different communication situations at various times in communication.Methods: The study included 38 AWS. The first stage of the study determined the difficulties related to stuttering in communication situations by requiring the participants to complete a questionnaire consisting of open-ended questions. The four SLTs scored these situations from various aspects (e.g., common experience of difficulty for AWS) and the final version of the 19-item list of situations in the “Determining Emotions Regarding Communication Situations in Stuttering Questionnaire (DERCSQ)” has been reached. The DERCSQ also provided a list of 90 emotions related to communication situations and stuttering. The participants completed the DERCSQ by indicating their feelings in three communication situations (before, during, and after communication).Results: The results indicated that AWS frequently experience negative emotions in different communication situations. The participants indicated that they experience the following emotions in pre-communication: excited (194), anxious (143), restless (142), tense (128), and concerned (118). During the communication, the participants experience the following emotions: uneasy (90), excited (88), uncomfortable (81), insufficient (78), and restless (75). During the after-communication period, the participants indicated that they experience the following emotions: anxiety (38), uneasy (34), uncomfortable (34), insufficient (33), and self-rage (32).Conclusions: The emotions obtained are compatible with the stuttering and psychology literature, it is remarkable that emotions such as anxiety and uneasy after stuttering were prominent.