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Research Note
August 2014

Safety Behaviors and Speech Treatment for Adults Who Stutter

Publication: Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
Volume 57, Number 4
Pages 1308-1313

Abstract

Purpose

Those with anxiety use safety behaviors when attempting to prevent negative outcomes. There is evidence that these behaviors contribute to the persistence of anxiety disorders. Safety behaviors have been prominent in the cognitive behavior therapy literature during the last decade, particularly with social phobia management. However, nothing is known of safety behavior use by those who stutter. This is surprising given the high prevalence of social phobia in the stuttering population who seek clinical help.

Method

Clinical psychologists and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) created a list of safety behaviors that might be used by adults during treatment for stuttering. Participants were 160 SLPs who were asked whether they advised adults who stutter to use any of these safety behaviors.

Results

SLPs commonly recommend safety behaviors during stuttering management. Factor structures were found for the following 5 safety behavior categories: (a) general safety behaviors, (b) practice and rehearsal, (c) general avoidance, (d) choosing safe and easy people, and (e) control-related safety behaviors.

Conclusions

There is a need to determine the frequency with which adults who receive stuttering treatment follow these clinician recommendations. In addition, there is a need to experimentally determine whether following such recommendations prevents fear extinction at long-term follow-up.

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
Volume 57Number 4August 2014
Pages: 1308-1313
PubMed: 24687147

History

  • Received: Feb 20, 2013
  • Revised: Jul 29, 2013
  • Accepted: Nov 7, 2013
  • Published in issue: Aug 1, 2014

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Key Words

  1. stuttering
  2. adult
  3. speech restructuring
  4. safety behaviors
  5. anxiety

Authors

Affiliations

Fjola Dogg Helgadottir
University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Ross G. Menzies
University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Mark Onslow
University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Ann Packman
University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Sue O'Brian
University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Notes

Disclosure: The authors have declared that no competing interests existed at the time of publication.
Correspondence to Mark Onslow: [email protected]
Fjola Dogg Helgadottir is now at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
Editor: Jody Kreiman
Associate Editor: Hans-Georg Bosshardt

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  • Speech and Anxiety Management With Persistent Stuttering: Current Status and Essential Research, Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 10.1044/2020_JSLHR-20-00144, 64, 1, (59-74), (2021).
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  • What do people search for in stuttering therapy: Personal goal-setting as a gold standard?, Journal of Communication Disorders, 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2019.105944, 85, (105944), (2020).
  • Supplementing stuttering treatment with online cognitive behavior therapy: An experimental trial, Journal of Communication Disorders, 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2019.04.003, 80, (81-91), (2019).
  • Safety Behaviors and Stuttering, Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 10.1044/2016_JSLHR-S-16-0055, 60, 5, (1246-1253), (2018).

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