Eichorn Naomi, Marton Klara, Pirutinsky Steven
The University of Memphis, School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, 4055 N. Park Loop, Memphis, TN 38152, United States.
The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York, Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, Graduate School and University Center, City University of New York, 365 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10016-4309, United States; Bárczi Gusztáv College of Special Education of Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary.
J Fluency Disord. 2018 Sep;57:37-50. doi: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2017.11.001. Epub 2017 Nov 13.
Multifactorial explanations of developmental stuttering suggest that difficulties in self-regulation and weak attentional flexibility contribute to persisting stuttering. We tested this prediction by examining whether preschool-age children who stutter (CWS) shift their attention less flexibly than children who do not stutter (CWNS) during a modified version of the Dimension Card Change Sort (DCCS), a reliable measure of attention switching for young children.
Sixteen CWS (12 males) and 30 children CWNS (11 males) participated in the study. Groups were matched on age (CWS: M=49.63, SD=10.34, range=38-80months; CWNS: M=50.63, SD=9.82, range=37-74months), cognitive ability, and language skills. All children completed a computer-based variation of the DCCS, in which they matched on-screen bivalent stimuli to response buttons based on rules that switched mid-task.
Results showed increased slowing for CWS compared to controls during the postswitch phase, as well as contrasting patterns of speed-accuracy tradeoff for CWS and CWNS as they moved from the preswitch to postswitch phase of the task.
Group differences in performance suggest that early stuttering may be associated with difficulty shifting attention efficiently and greater concern about errors. Findings are consistent with a growing literature indicating links between weak attentional control and persisting developmental stuttering.
发育性口吃的多因素解释表明，自我调节困难和注意力灵活性弱会导致口吃持续存在。我们通过检查在维度卡片变化分类（DCCS）的修改版中，口吃的学龄前儿童（CWS）是否比不口吃的儿童（CWNS）注意力转移更不灵活来检验这一预测，DCCS是一种用于幼儿注意力转换的可靠测量方法。
16名CWS儿童（12名男性）和30名CWNS儿童（11名男性）参与了该研究。两组在年龄（CWS：M = 49.63，SD = 10.34，范围 = 38 - 80个月；CWNS：M = 50.63，SD = 9.82，范围 = 37 - 74个月）、认知能力和语言技能方面进行了匹配。所有儿童完成了基于计算机的DCCS变体，在该变体中，他们根据任务中途切换的规则将屏幕上二价刺激与响应按钮进行匹配。
结果显示，与对照组相比，CWS儿童在切换后阶段的反应速度减慢，并且在从任务的切换前阶段到切换后阶段时，CWS儿童和CWNS儿童在速度 - 准确性权衡上呈现出不同的模式。
表现上的组间差异表明，早期口吃可能与有效转移注意力困难以及对错误的更大担忧有关。研究结果与越来越多的文献一致，这些文献表明注意力控制薄弱与持续性发育性口吃之间存在联系。
