The Temperamental Characteristic of Extraversion in Slovenian Preschool Children Who Stutter

Different authors agree that stuttering is a multifactorial disorder that manifests itself in verbal, psychological, physiological, physical and social fields and requires corresponding evaluation, diagnosis and treatment (Conture 2001; Logan, Yaruss, 1999; Vanryckeghem, Brutten, 1997; Zebrowski, Kelly, 2002). Contemporary research links the development of stuttering with certain temperamental characteristics, among which extraversion plays an important role. The aim of this study was to investigate one such temperamental characteristic – extraversion – in Slovenian preschool children who stutter and to compare these children with their fluently-speaking peers. Using a parent administered questionnaire (Inventory of Children’s Individual Differences, Zupancic, Kavcic, 2009), extraversion as a temperamental characteristic was assessed in 49 children who stutter and in 75 children who do not stutter. All children were aged between 3 and 6 years. The results demonstrated that preschool children who stutter achieved, on average, a statistically significantly lower score on the dimension of extraversion than preschool children who do not stutter. Accordingly, children who stutter are not as extraverted, active, sociable and open to experience as children who speak fluently.