An Investigation of the Relationship between Stuttering and Temperament

Alison Nicholas, Ehud Yairi, Steve Davis and Sarah Manglesdorf

This paper will present preliminary findings from a study investigating the nature of temperament in school-aged children who stutter (CWS) compared to fluent peers (CWNS). Participants will be CWS and CWNS between the ages of 9 and 15 years. The CWS will be matched by age, gender and social background to the CWNS. Children’s temperament will be determined using the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire – Revised (EATQ-R) (Ellis & Rothbart, 2001) which includes both parent-and self-report of children’s temperament. Comparisons will be made between the temperamental profiles of CWS and their fluent peers and between parent and child ratings of temperament.