Self-Stigma of Stuttering: Implications for Communicative Participation and Mental Health

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if self-stigma-related variables predicted communicative participation and mental health in adults who stutter. A progressive model of self-stigma was theorized and tested.Method: Adults who stutter (N = 344) completed a survey that included measures of communicative participation, global mental health, and a variety of selfstigma-related variables including perceived enacted stigma, stigma awareness, anticipated stigma, felt stigma, stereotype agreement, and stigma application, in addition to demographic and speech-related variables. Hierarchical regression was performed to test whether self-stigma-related variables progressively explained significant variance in both communicative participation and global mental health.cResults: After controlling for demographic and speech-related variables, stigma-related variables were found to be significant predictors of both communicative participation and global mental health among adults who stutter. Most self-stigma-related variables entered later in the model predicted additional unique variance in the outcome variables than the self-stigma-related variables entered in previous steps, thus supporting the trickle-down and progressive nature of the self-stigma model theorized.Conclusions: Accounting for self-stigma in the assessment and treatment of individuals who stutter may identify and ultimately reduce environmental and personal barriers to communicative functioning and well-being in people who stutter. The self-stigma terminology and model described in this study will help practitioners, researchers, and the public better understand the process of selfstigma and how it may be associated with adverse outcomes experienced by people who stutter.