Stuttering and Labor Market Outcomes in the United States
Publication: Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
Volume 61, Number 7
Pages 1649-1663
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to quantify relationships between stuttering and labor market outcomes, determine if outcomes differ by gender, and explain the earnings difference between people who stutter and people who do not stutter.
Method
Survey and interview data were obtained from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Of the 13,564 respondents who completed 4 waves of surveys over 14 years and answered questions about stuttering, 261 people indicated that they stutter. Regression analysis, propensity score matching, and Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition were used.
Results
After controlling for numerous variables related to demographics and comorbidity, the deficit in earnings associated with stuttering exceeded $7,000. Differences in observable characteristics between people who stutter and people who do not stutter (e.g., education, occupation, self-perception, hours worked) accounted for most of the earnings gap for males but relatively little for females. Females who stutter were also 23% more likely to be underemployed than females who do not stutter.
Conclusions
Stuttering was associated with reduced earnings and other gender-specific disadvantages in the labor market. Preliminary evidence indicates that discrimination may have contributed to the earnings gap associated with stuttering, particularly for females.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
Volume 61 • Number 7 • July 2018
Pages: 1649-1663
PubMed: 29933430
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
History
- Received: Sep 18, 2017
- Revised: Jan 26, 2018
- Accepted: Mar 26, 2018
- Published in issue: Jul 13, 2018
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