1. Introduction

This chapter discusses the impact of stuttering on individuals' quality of life and the attitudes of society towards people who stutter. It emphasizes the importance of understanding public attitudes to help individuals who stutter cope with them and raise public awareness about their mindset and behaviors. The research on public attitudes toward people who stutter has been well-documented across different demographics and cultures. These studies consistently show that people who stutter are negatively stereotyped by the public and that contact with individuals who stutter is associated with better understanding and improved attitudes. However, most of the research studies were conducted in Western regions, and there is limited information from other places.

2. Public Attitudes Toward People Who Stutter in China

This chapter discusses public attitudes toward people who stutter in China, highlighting the limited research on this topic in the country. Three identified studies utilized large-scale surveys with closed-ended questions to explore public attitudes toward stuttering. Findings showed limited knowledge about stuttering and negative attitudes toward people who stutter in China compared to other countries. Challenges and limitations in the current research, such as the lack of depth in participant responses and the need for data collection from wider geographical locations, are also emphasized.

3. Purpose of the Present Study

This chapter discusses the purpose of the present study, which aims to explore public attitudes toward people who stutter in China. The research addresses three main qualitative and quantitative research questions to gain a better understanding of the Chinese public's attitudes toward stuttering.

4. Methodology

This chapter discusses the research design, participants, survey instrument, validity and reliability of the survey tool, translation process, procedures and ethics, and data analysis used in the study. It also describes the mixed methods design employed, the use of convenience sampling to recruit participants, the web-based survey instrument, the steps taken to assure the construct and face validity of the survey, and the translation process of the survey questions. Additionally, it outlines the procedures and ethics followed in the study, as well as the data analysis methods used, which included thematic analysis to identify and organize emerging patterns and recurrent themes in the responses to the open-ended questions.

5. Results

This chapter discussed the results of the survey on the descriptions and attitudes towards people who stutter based on respondents' sources of knowledge about stuttering. Descriptions of people who stutter were collected, revealing unfavorable descriptions about speech, mostly positive responses in the "Normalcy" and "Capability" themes, and a mix of favorable and unfavorable descriptions in other themes. Respondents were categorized into three groups based on their knowledge about stuttering. Group 1, who knew someone who stutters, provided more concrete and favorable descriptions. Group 2, who learned about stuttering from media, tended to provide more negative descriptions. Group 3, who denied knowing someone who stutters, provided both positive and negative responses. Furthermore, the communication skills of people who stutter were also discussed, with the majority of respondents indicating inadequate communication skills, and a smaller proportion indicating situational or adequate communication skills.

6. Discussion

The current research adds more evidence that stuttering is a stigmatizing condition, documents more details about its manifestation in the Chinese context, and provides encouraging documentation that increased contact with people who stutter and factual depictions of people who stutter may decrease stereotyping. Most descriptions of the personalities of people who stutter are of an undesirable nature, and most respondents believed the negative impact of stuttering extends beyond outward speech behaviors to their personalities, work, social life, dating and marriage, education, capability, and life participation. Respondents who claimed to know people who stutter made numerous favorable statements and the people who reported learning about stuttering from media appeared to mention more examples suggestive of negative attitudes. Stuttering is the disruption in the fluency of verbal expression and is sometimes accompanied by accessory/secondary behaviors.

7. Limitations and Future Directions

This chapter discusses the limitations of the study and suggests future directions for research. The study is limited due to convenience sampling, and future research should use probability sampling from a larger, randomly selected population. The study also did not provide a clinical definition of stuttering in the questionnaire, and future research could incorporate this definition. Follow-up interviews with participants and further research on the factors contributing to public attitudes in China are also recommended.

8. Conclusions

This chapter discussed the results of a survey on attitudes toward people who stutter in China, showing overall negative attitudes but with some mitigation by personal acquaintance. It emphasized the impact of negative stereotypes on the lives of people who stutter and called for education campaigns, culturally appropriate services, and media involvement to promote understanding and reduce stigma.