The attitudes of Maltese communication therapy students towards stuttering

Abstract

The main aim of the study was to investigate the attitudes that Communication Therapy students at the University of Malta have towards the fluency disorder referred to as ‘stuttering’. Additionally, it aimed at identifying whether attitudes varied based on the students’ year groups and also whether the attitudes of Maltese Communication Therapy students differ from the educators’ attitudes that were analysed in a past local study. The current study used the Maltese Teacher Attitudes Towards Stuttering (MTATS) questionnaire in a modified manner to explore the students’ attitudes toward stuttering. This modified questionnaire was adapted from the original survey used by Crowe and Walton (1989). The 36 participants were required to respond to the twenty-six statements followed by a five point strength-of-agreement scale that varies from ‘strongly agree’ to ‘strongly disagree.’ Participants were also offered to take part in focus groups. Four focus groups were organized consisting of 5 students each. The data gathered from the questionnaire was analysed statistically in order to identify the attitudes students have towards stuttering and whether these varied according to the students’ year group. The data gathered from the focus groups was analysed qualitatively through thematic analysis. The findings indicate that the students who took part in this study have a generally positive view toward people who stutter (PWS) and stuttering in general. There was no discernible difference between students as they progressed from year to year. The findings of this study also showed that Maltese Communication Therapy students have a more favourable attitude about PWS and stuttering in general than local educators. This study emphasizes the importance of raising awareness among other social groups, such as the general public, which the students identified as social groups that lack information about stuttering in order to eliminate stereotypes and misconceptions regarding stuttering. Awareness will also aid in the development of a better communicative environment for PWS, resulting in improved quality of life (QOL).