Associations between stuttering, comorbid conditions and executive function in children: a population-based study
- PDF / 1,241,507 Bytes
- 19 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 74 Downloads / 157 Views
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
Associations between stuttering, comorbid conditions and executive function in children: a population‑based study Ai Leen Choo1*, Sara Ashley Smith2 and Hongli Li3
Abstract Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between executive function (EF), stuttering, and comorbidity by examining children who stutter (CWS) and children who do not stutter (CWNS) with and without comorbid conditions. Data from the National Health Interview Survey were used to examine behavioral manifestations of EF, such as inattention and self-regulation, in CWS and CWNS. Methods: The sample included 2258 CWS (girls = 638, boys = 1620), and 117,725 CWNS (girls = 57,512; boys = 60,213). EF, and the presence of stuttering and comorbid conditions were based on parent report. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the distribution of stuttering and comorbidity across group and sex. Regression analyses were to determine the effects of stuttering and comorbidity on EF, and the relationship between EF and socioemotional competence. Results: Results point to weaker EF in CWS compared to CWNS. Also, having comorbid conditions was also associated with weaker EF. CWS with comorbidity showed the weakest EF compared to CWNS with and without comorbidity, and CWS without comorbidity. Children with stronger EF showed higher socioemotional competence. A majority (60.32%) of CWS had at least one other comorbid condition in addition to stuttering. Boys who stutter were more likely to have comorbid conditions compared to girls who stutter. Conclusion: Present findings suggest that comorbidity is a common feature in CWS. Stuttering and comorbid conditions negatively impact EF. Keywords: Stuttering, Comorbidity, Executive function, Socioemotional competence, Children Background Disruptions in the fluent flow of speech are a hallmark of stuttering [1]. However, consequences of the disorder extend beyond speech. There is a growing body of evidence pointing to deficits in cognitive and metalinguistic skills in children who stutter [2–5]. CWS have been reported to show weaker executive function (EF; namely, phonological working memory [WM], attentional skills *Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Georgia State University, 30 Pryor St SW, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
and inhibitory control) relative to children who do not stutter [CWNS; for a review see 6–11], with implications for fluency [12, 13]. EF is the umbrella term used to describe the abilities needed to manage and allocate cognitive resources during cognitively challenging activities, such as switching between rules or tasks, controlling and focusing attention, ignoring distractions, and inhibiting impulses [11, 14]. EF is fundamental for language, selfcontrol, emotional regulation, and goal-oriented behaviors [15–17].
© The Author(s) 2020. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internati
Data Loading...
