Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 General Psychology, Psychology Department, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Isfahan, Iran
2 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran.
3 Islamic Azad University of Isfahan (Khorasgan)
Abstract
Abstract
Introduction: Stuttering is one of the most important speech disorders in children, which causes anxiety and worry in parents, especially mothers. The present study sought to investigate and identify the types of anxiety experienced by mothers of children with stuttering.
Methods: This qualitative study adopted reflexive thematic analysis (Brown & Clark) to investigate the anxiety and concerns experienced by mothers of children with stuttering. The participants were 15 mothers of children with stuttering who visited speech therapy centers in Isfahan and were selected through homogenous purposive sampling. The data were collected through interviews with the participants for 45 days and analyzed by the thematic analysis method.
Results: Data analysis revealed two core categories, four organizing themes, and nineteen subthemes. The two core categories identified in this study were mother-centered anxiety (anxiety about public judgments on the mother and anxiety about the appropriateness of the mother's behavior with the child who stutters) and child-centered anxiety (concerns about public reactions to the child's stuttering and the concerns about the child's future life and treatment).
Conclusion: The findings indicated that the mothers of children with stuttering were mostly concerned about public reactions to the stuttering child and their judgments about the mother. Thus, promoting a sense of self-worth in these mothers can reduce such concerns. Moreover, raising public awareness about how to treat children with stuttering and their parents can make social life easier for such children and their mothers.
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