This study reports the results of an investigation of public awareness and knowledge of stuttering in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A total number of 606 street recruited respondents answered questions on various aspects of stuttering, including prevalence, onset, gender distribution, occurrence in different cultures, cause, treatment, intelligence, and hereditariness. The questionnaire used was a Portuguese version of the one by [Van Borsel, J., Verniers, I. & Bouvry, S. (1999). Public awareness of stuttering. Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, 51, 124–132]. Although, stuttering is a disorder which is known to a majority of the participants, knowledge appears to be limited for certain aspects. Knowledge also differs among subgroups of participants according to gender, age and educational level. Comparison of the results of the current study with similar studies conducted in Belgium and in Shanghai, China shows several similarities but also some differences.
Educational objectives: The reader will be able to: (1) discuss public awareness and knowledge of stuttering in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; (2) discuss the differences in knowledge according to gender, age and educational level and; (3) discuss similarities and differences with comparable studies run in Belgium and Shanghai, China.
Several studies have shown that awareness and knowledge of a given communication disorder may considerably influence one's attitude towards the individuals affected. As far as stuttering is concerned, Crowe and Walton (1981), in a study involving 100 elementary school teachers, reported significant positive correlations between knowledge of stuttering and teacher attitudes, as measured by the teacher attitudes toward stuttering inventory (Crowe & Walton, 1978). Similarly, Yeakle and Cooper (1986), in a study investigating 512 teachers in Tuscaloosa, found that teachers having experience with persons who stutter (PWS) or having had coursework in speech disorders, demonstrated much more realistic attitudes toward stuttering on the teachers perception of stuttering inventory. Promoting awareness and instructing the general public, therefore, seems tantamount for the social integration and well-being of PWS.
Little information is available, however, on the level of awareness and knowledge of the lay public on stuttering. Two parallel questionnaire studies, one conducted in Flanders, the northern part of Belgium (Van Borsel, Verniers, & Bouvry, 1999), and one conducted in Shanghai, China (Xing Ming, Jing, Yi Wen, & Van Borsel, 2001), showed that overall stuttering is a disorder most people are somewhat familiar with but also that the knowledge of the layman of stuttering is in general limited, even in regard to basic facts. Comparison of the Belgian and the Chinese study, moreover, showed some differences. For instance, the Chinese respondents had a much more accurate view about prevalence and gender distribution of stuttering. On the other hand, the Belgian respondents were more often correct with respect to the relation between handedness and stuttering. In the Chinese study, respondents considered stuttering primarily as a learning problem or a hard to understand and hence complex problem, whereas the Belgian respondents considered stuttering more as (psycho-) medical problem. And whereas only 1.4% of the Chinese respondents indicated that they would wait rather than consult the family doctor or speech language pathologist if they had a four-year-old child who stutters, almost 7% of the Belgian respondents would prefer to wait. Some of these differences may reflect differences in cultural background. It was hypothesized, for instance, that the latter difference was related to the Chinese “Family Planning Policy”, people wanting the very best for their single child. Indeed, although stuttering is a disorder that exists worldwide (Bloodstein, 1995) and although, many countries have educational programmes that train professionals to assess and treat stuttering (Lesser, 1992), awareness and knowledge of the layperson may significantly differ from country to country. Consequently, campaigns such as the stuttering awareness day by the international stuttering association, will be most fruitful, if their actions are focused, taking into account the local situation. Apart from being helpful in directing future awareness campaigns, questioning the lay public in a given country or area may also shed light on the acceptability and congruence of various treatment approaches and may facilitate better targeting of dissemination of information about referral for stuttering treatment. With the forgoing in mind, we conducted a study to investigate public awareness and knowledge of stuttering in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the second largest city of the country (after São Paulo), with over six million inhabitants.
