Term Paper on "How Does Stuttering Affect Self-Esteem?"

Term Paper 5 pages (1590 words) Sources: 8

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Stuttering and Self-Esteem

Childhood Stuttering and Self-Esteem

Although human beings constantly change and go through different stages of life, some of the habits, characteristics, and skills they acquire during childhood may persist to their adulthood. Similarly, some of the childhood experiences may affect their development later in life. Such changes especially happen when the childhood experiences are painful, stressful, and long-lasting. Stuttering is one of the conditions that develop mostly during childhood ("Stuttering: Why and when," 1997). Children affected by stuttering experience numerous psychological problems, including lack of confidence, feeling of insecurity, frustration, anger, and sometimes self-isolation. A stuttering child is also a subject of teasing, bullying, and ridiculing quite often. It is a long-lasting condition for many stuttering children and therefore it is not surprising that their difficult childhood experience may lead to a variety of psychological problems during adolescence and adulthood. Among these problems stutterers suffer from is low self-esteem. Incidents of childhood stutterers suffering from low self-esteem during adulthood are higher than those involving children who have no stuttering experience, although some stutterers manage to overcome their difficulties.

Classic definitions of stuttering offer the following sings of it: interjections (including filled pauses), word repetitions, phrase repetitions, part-word repetitions, prolongations, broken words, incomplete phrases (abandonments), and revisions (Howell, Davis, & Williams, 2008, p. 670). According to World Health Organization, stuttering is characterized by "disorders in the rhythm of speech, in which the individual knows precisely what he wishes to say, but at the time is unable to say it because of an involuntary, repetitive prolongation or cessation of a sound" (ibid). And definitions of self-esteem emphasize its cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects. The first refers to one's perception or appraisal of how one sees oneself. The second refers to the feelings one has when considering the discrepancy between how one sees oneself and one's true ideal. And such behaviors as assertiveness and resilience are components of behavioral aspects of self-esteem (Reasoner, n.d.). Some psychologists emphasize its importance by arguing that there is a "vital human quest" for self-esteem (Greenberg, 2008).

There are numerous reasons childhood stuttering may negatively affect self-esteem during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. When children start realizing that they are different from others, they may start developing early stages of low self-esteem. Other children and siblings may find stutterers "funny" and tease them. Some parents may overpressure stuttering children or constantly correct them, making them less confident of their abilities. As children go to school and start taking upper grade classes, they are required to speak more to succeed. Their inability to express themselves as easily as fluent children and negative feedback they receive from their peers may significantly affect their self-esteem. When childhood stutterers reach adulthood, the problem is further exacerbated by the fact that jobs today increasingly require interpersonal and communication skills. Difficulty of stutterers in competing with fluent speakers, coupled with negative attitudes others have toward stutterers, may again negatively affect their self-esteem.

The relationship between childhood stuttering and low self-esteem, however, is not always clear-cut, as suggested by some resent studies. Yovetich, Leschied, & Flicht (2000), studying self-esteem dimensions of twenty five elementary school-age children, did not find any differences between their self-esteem levels and of those who did not stutter. But the authors note that other factors might have influenced the self-worth of children under study. Some children tend to lower their expectations relative to their performance, "discounting" speaking situations most of the time. In some cases, effective parental interventions may compensate for potential negative self-esteem stemming from stuttering. The authors also note that self-worth among these children may also come from "secondary gain": the "help of friends and family who tend to speak for the stutterer may diminish some of the impact that stuttering may otherwise have on that individual's life. . . . [children] may not have enough exposure to verbal experiences for their self-esteem to be adversely affected" (Yovetich, Leschied, & Flicht, 2000, pp. 148-150).

Similarly, in a study conducted among forty eight adolescents (divided into two groups, 13-15 years and 16-18 years), Blood, Blood, Tellis, & Gabel (2003) found that most adolescents' self-esteem was indicative of positive self-esteem. Here again, the authors point out that other factors may help adolescents maintain their self-worth. Their findings also indicated that a significant number of adolescents tried to hide their stuttering because it could invite negative feedback among their peers, which in turn might lead to lowering of their self-esteem. The authors explain that the participants might be "using specific strategies to reduce/eliminate perceived stigma including: (a) comparing themselves to members of their own group rather than to a non-stigmatized group, (b) devaluing things they were not good at, or (c) attributing negative feedback to the fact that they belong to a stigmatized group rather than their own personal faults" (Blood, Blood, Tellis, & Gabel, 2003, p. 155). Absent these strategies and other factors that contribute to higher self-esteem, children, adolescents, and adults have a hard time maintaining positive self-esteem. It should also be noted that children and adolescents lowering their expectations may do so because of lower self-esteem.

Other researchers have found that stuttering experiences may lead to negative cognitive, affective, and behavioral reactions. Stuttering may influence the ability of these individuals to fully participate in daily activities and may negatively affect their general quality of life (Yaruss & Quesal, 2001). Many children perform below the average, while adolescents have difficulty in making friends of the opposite sex. When they reach adulthood, it may especially be difficult for stutterers to establish intimate relationships (Klompas & Ross, 2004). These experiences affect the level of self-esteem among stutterers. Additionally, Klompas and Ross's study of sixteen South African adult stutterers found that the majority were affected by stuttering negatively. The respondents discussed the impact stuttering had on their educational opportunities and job performances, relations with teachers, co-workers, employers, and friends. Many of them associated these difficulties as leading to numerous psychological problems, including stress, increased mental anxiety, and low self-esteem.

Some researchers note that low-esteem is acquired by stutterers indirectly, as a comorbidity effect. Daniels and Gabel (2004) investigated the impact of stuttering on identity construction and found that negative effect of stuttering on communication and social interactions, coupled with the lack of role models and peer groups, made it hard for stutterers construct positive identity. Inability to construct positive identity or struggling with it for a prolonged time certainly leads to feelings of low self-esteem. According to Klein and Hood (2004), there are numerous empirical research studies showing that stuttering negatively impacts employment opportunities and job performance. Klein and Hood (2004) explain: "Results indicated that more than 70% of people who stutter agreed that stuttering decreases one's chances of being hired or promoted. More than 33% of people who stutter believed stuttering interferes with their job performance, and 20% had actually turned down a job or promotion because of their stuttering" (p. 255). It is obvious that those who turned down a job or promotion were motivated by their feelings of low self-worth and self-esteem. It is also the case that, as these research findings suggest, many stutterers manage to overcome the obstacles.

Differences in the findings of studies discussed in this paper suggest that, while stuttering negatively affects the self-esteem of children, adolescents, and adults, the negative affects of stuttering may be lowered through successful interventions and public awareness. Stuttering management skills by those who stutter and better understanding among those who interact with stutterers may lower or eliminate the correlation between stuttering and low self-esteem. It is evident then that future research on the subject is required and theories as well as practical solutions to the problem should continue. And perhaps public awareness should not consist of only understanding. There may be something non-stutterers can learn about how to… READ MORE

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