Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Envisioning Possibilities for the Future 2025 ASHA Convention, Washington, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri, 20 - 22 Kasım 2025, ss.182, (Özet Bildiri)
Stuttering is a fluency disorder characterised by involuntary interruptions in the fluency and rhythm of speech, which has negative effects on not only communicative but also psychosocial functioning (Bloodstein & Ratner, 2008). Stuttering is not only a speech disorder, but also leads to negative experiences such as shame, stigmatisation and social isolation, negatively affecting psychological well-being and quality of life (Boyle, 2015). Self-compassion in the face of stressful or challenging experiences allows the individual to develop a kind, understanding and accepting attitude towards himself/herself. Self-compassion stands out as an important psychological variable in coping with stuttering. It is reported that individuals with high levels of self-compassion experience less negative effects of stuttering and participate more actively in communication processes (Croft & Byrd, 2020). In addition, it is stated that there is a negative relationship between stuttering severity and self-compassion levels and that integrating self-compassion into therapeutic approaches can provide clinical benefits (Hogan, 2017; Croft & Byrd, 2023). On the other hand, cognitive flexibility is defined as the individual's capacity to adapt to changing environmental conditions and develop alternative solutions (Moriguchi & Hiraki, 2009). Current findings reveal that the cognitive flexibility levels of individuals with stuttering are low in both adult (Deligöz, Erol & Karsan, 2023) and child (Eichorn, Marton & Pirutinsky, 2018; Eichorn & Pirutinsky, 2021) samples. Intervention-based studies targeting individuals who stutter indicate that cognitive flexibility is a modifiable skill, and that this capacity can be enhanced through the implementation of appropriate interventions (Taghizadeh, Yarollahi, & Bahrami, 2018). The aim of this study is to compare the psychological resilience and self-compassion levels of individuals with and without stuttering and to examine the relationship between cognitive flexibility and self-compassion in both groups. This study was based on the relational survey model, one of the quantitative research methods. The study group consisted of native Turkish speakers between the ages of 18 and 60 who exhibited 3% or more speech disfluency (%SS) in their speech samples. Individuals with a history of neurological or psychiatric illness were excluded from the study. The sample size was calculated in accordance with the statistical power required for correlation analysis through the G*Power 3.1.9.7 program and a total of 36 participants, 18 individuals with stuttering and 18 individuals without stuttering, were determined at 95% confidence level. In the data collection process, Self-Compassion Scale Short Form and Cognitive Control and Flexibility Scale were used. The data obtained were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0 software. Firstly, the distribution characteristics of the variables were evaluated with the Shapiro-Wilk test and the normality assumption was tested. The relationships between the variables were analysed by Spearman correlation analysis, and the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test was applied to determine the differences between groups. In all statistical analyses, significance level was accepted (p < .05).In the study, the data of a total of 28 participants consisting of individuals with stuttering (n = 14) and individuals without stuttering (n = 14) were analysed. When the demographic characteristics of the participants were analysed, it was found that gender, age, education level, income, history of receiving therapy, participation in a self-help group and receiving psychological support did not show a statistically significant relationship with stuttering status (p > .05). However, the relationship between the status of receiving therapy and stuttering is on the border of statistical significance and shows a remarkable tendency (p = .054). As a result of the comparisons made in the sub-dimensions of the Cognitive Flexibility Scale, it was found that the scores of ‘Control over Emotions’ (p = .011), ‘Flexibility in Evaluation and Coping’ (p = .028) and ‘Total Cognitive Flexibility’ (p = .009) of individuals without stuttering were significantly higher than those of individuals with stuttering. In the analyses related to self-compassion levels, no statistically significant difference was found between the groups (p = .350). When the intragroup correlation analyses were examined, significant and positive relationships were found between self-compassion and ‘Control over Emotions’ and ‘Total Cognitive Flexibility’ sub-dimensions of the Cognitive Flexibility Scale in both individuals with and without stuttering (p < .05). This shows that increasing the level of self-compassion is related to cognitive flexibility. This study revealed that the cognitive flexibility levels of individuals with stuttering were significantly lower than those of individuals without stuttering, especially in the sub-dimensions of control over emotions, evaluation and coping flexibility. Although there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of self-compassion levels, significant and positive relationships were found between self-compassion and certain sub-dimensions of cognitive flexibility in both groups. These findings suggest that self-compassion may be a supportive factor for individuals' cognitive regulation skills and that stuttering is not only limited to speech fluency but also has a multidimensional structure that affects psychological functioning. As a result, it is important to develop intervention programs to increase cognitive flexibility and support self-compassion in coping with stuttering.
Keywords: Stuttering, Self-compassion, Cognitive Flexibility