Understanding social anxiety in adolescents who stutter: A multi-informant study of the roles of stuttering severity, parenting styles, social participation and speech avoidance.

BACKGROUND: Adolescents who stutter are at increased risk for social anxiety, yet the factors underlying this vulnerability remain unclear. This study examined the contributions of stuttering severity, parenting styles, social participation, and avoidance of speech situations to social anxiety among adolescents who stutter compared with adolescents who do not stutter. METHOD: Participants were 158 adolescents (79 who stutter and 79 who do not stutter) and their mothers. Adolescents who do not stutter were recruited as close friends or classmates of adolescents who stutter to enhance group comparability. Adolescents reported stuttering severity and avoidance of speech situations; parents reported parenting styles and social participation. Social anxiety was assessed using adolescent and parent reports. Analyses included paired-samples t tests, correlations, and regression models. RESULTS: Adolescents who stutter showed higher social anxiety than adolescents who do not stutter in both reports. Among adolescents who stutter, speech avoidance was associated with adolescent- and parent-reported social anxiety. Stuttering severity was associated with parent-reported social anxiety but was not significant beyond avoidance. Social participation was negatively associated with social anxiety but was not significant beyond avoidance. Among adolescents who do not stutter, adolescentreported social anxiety was associated with speech avoidance, whereas parentreported social anxiety was associated with authoritarian and permissive parenting styles. CONCLUSIONS: Speech avoidance emerged as the strongest correlate of social anxiety among adolescents who stutter. Interventions may benefit from targeting speech avoidance and promoting verbal engagement to help mitigate social anxiety in this population.