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Biomedical subjects

Rodney M Gabel

Publications and source records attributed to Rodney M Gabel.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Effects of stuttering severity and therapy involvement on attitudes towards people who stutter.

UNLABELLED: The purpose of this study was to explore whether stuttering severity or therapy involvement had an effect on the attitudes that individuals who do not stutter reported towards people who stutter (PWS). Two hundred and sixty (260) university students participated in this study. Direct survey procedures consisting of a 25-item semantic differential scale were utilized. Comparisons of the effects of stuttering severity, level of therapy involvement, and the interaction of these variables were completed. Results suggested that both stuttering severity and therapy involvement had significant effects on participants' attitudes towards PWS. Findings of this study support past research studies that has found that individuals who stutter mildly are perceived more positively than those who are severe. Similarly, the data supported past research that has found that PWS that attend therapy are perceived more positively than those who do not attend therapy. Surprisingly, the interaction of these variables was not significant. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: The reader will be able to: (1) explain the possible effects of listeners' attitudes toward stuttering on the lives of PWS; (2) discuss how different factors might alter listeners' attitudes towards stuttering; (3) delineate how stuttering severity and involvement in therapy might impact listeners' attitudes towards PWS.

Adolescent↗

A qualitative study of how African American men who stutter attribute meaning to identity and life choices.

UNLABELLED: To date, few studies have explored the life experience of people who stutter. In addition, few qualitative studies have been conducted with people who stutter of historically disadvantaged race-ethnic groups. This study was designed to explore how African American men who stutter view communication, identity and life choices. A qualitative approach was used that focused on the life experiences of African American men who stutter. Six men who identified themselves as both African American and people who stutter participated in this study. The primary investigator conducted an initial 60 to 90 minute semistructured, videotaped interview with each participant. Transcriptions were made of these sessions, and analyzed for major and minor themes. Each participant returned approximately a week later to review the data analysis. Results indicated that the interaction of communication, ethnicity, and culture affected how the participants perceived themselves, their stuttering, and their life choices. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: The reader will be able to: (1) explain the importance of culture in the life experiences of people who stutter, (2) discuss how qualitative methodology can be clinically useful when working with people who stutter, and (3) describe the major themes associated with the six participants in this study.

Adult↗

Measuring role entrapment of people who stutter.

UNLABELLED: The purpose of this study was to explore whether people who stutter experience role entrapment in the form of vocational stereotyping. To accomplish this, 385 university students reported their perceptions of appropriate career choices for people who stutter. Direct survey procedures, utilizing the newly developed Vocational Advice Scale (VAS), were used in this study. Comparisons for the main effect of speaker status (person who stutters and person who does not stutter) were conducted using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results of this analysis suggested that the university students reported an overall perception that stuttering affected career opportunities and that 20 careers were judged to be inappropriate choices for people who stutter. Conversely, 23 careers were judged to be appropriate choices for people who stutter. Findings of this study provide initial data that supports that people who stutter may suffer from role entrapment related to career choices. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: The reader will be able to: (1) provide the definitions of stereotyping, role entrapment, and how these relate to people who stutter; (2) discuss the career choices that college students perceive as appropriate and inappropriate for people who stutter; and (3) summarize the needs for future research in this area.

Adult↗

A preliminary study of self-esteem, stigma, and disclosure in adolescents who stutter.

UNLABELLED: This study examined the self-esteem, perceived stigma, and disclosure practices of 48 adolescents who stutter divided into two age cohorts: younger (13, 14, and 15 years) and older (16, 17, and 18 years) adolescents. Results revealed that 41 (85%) of the participants scored within 1 S.D. from the mean on a standardized measure of self-esteem, indicative of positive self-esteem. Results also showed that stuttering did not present a stigmatizing condition for the majority (65%) of adolescents who stutter. However, 60% of participants indicated that they "rarely" or "never" discussed their stuttering. The younger adolescents perceived stuttering as a more negative and stigmatizing condition than older adolescents. Implications for understanding stuttering in adolescents are discussed. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: Readers will learn about and understand (a) the role of stigma, disclosure, and self-esteem in stuttering; (b) the methods used to evaluate stigma, disclosure, and self-esteem in adolescents; and (c) the similarities between adolescents who stutter and normative data on self-esteem and stigma scales.

Adolescent↗

Speech disfluency in centenarians.

UNLABELLED: Other than a single case presentation of a 105-year-old female, no other studies have addressed the speech fluency characteristics of centenarians. The purpose of this study was to provide descriptive information on the fluency characteristics of speakers between the ages of 100-103 years. Conversational speech samples from seven speakers were evaluated for the frequency and types of disfluencies and speech rate. The centenarian speakers had a disfluency rate similar to that reported for 70-, 80-, and early 90-year-olds. The types of disfluencies observed also were similar to those reported for younger elderly speakers (primarily whole word/phrase, or formulative fluency breaks). Finally, the speech rate data for the current group of speakers supports prior literature reports of a slower rate with advancing age, but extends the finding to centenarians. LEARNING OUTCOMES: As a result of this activity, participants will be able to: (1) describe the frequency of disfluency breaks and the types of disfluencies exhibited by centenarian speakers, (2) describe the mean and range of speaking rates in centenarians, and (3) compare the present findings for centenarians to the fluency and speaking rate characteristics reported in the literature.

Aged↗