The experience of Polish individuals who stutter based on the OASES outcomes

Katarzyna Węsierska; J Scott Yaruss; Kalina Kosacka; Łukasz Kowalczyk; Aleksandra Boroń

doi:10.1016/j.jfludis.2023.105991

The experience of Polish individuals who stutter based on the OASES outcomes

J Fluency Disord. 2023 Sep:77:105991. doi: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2023.105991. Epub 2023 Jun 15.

Authors

Katarzyna Węsierska¹, J Scott Yaruss², Kalina Kosacka³, Łukasz Kowalczyk⁴, Aleksandra Boroń⁵

Affiliations

¹ University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland. Electronic address: katarzyna.wesierska@us.edu.pl.
² Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
³ Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin, Poland.
⁴ The Maria Grzegorzewska University in Warsaw, Poland.
⁵ Private Practice, Syców, Zgorzelec, Poland.

PMID: 37354736
DOI: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2023.105991

Abstract

Background: Prior research has shown that stuttering is a complex and individualized condition. The Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES; Yaruss & Quesal, 2016) is a well-researched tool that measures the impact of stuttering on an individual's life. This study has used the Polish version of the OASES to examine the experience of stuttering among Polish people who stutter.

Method: The original, English version of the OASES was translated into Polish. Reliability and validity for the Polish version were evaluated. Comparisons were made between samples from Poland and the United States for all of the sections and for the overall results of the OASES-S, OASES-T, and OASES-A. To explore the structure of the stuttering experience, a factor structure of the OASES was conducted.

Results: Like other versions of the OASES, the OASES-Polish (OASES-PL) demonstrated good reliability and validity. Cross-cultural comparisons have shown that Polish school-age children had significantly lower knowledge and awareness of stuttering than children in the United States (USA). Factor analysis further revealed that the structure of the experience of stuttering is similar across all age groups, but the importance of the particular aspects of stuttering varies at different stages of life.

Conclusion: The OASES-PL is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring the impact of stuttering on Polish people who stutter and can therefore be used as a clinical tool. Polish results were relatively similar to those from the USA, though there were subtle cross-cultural differences that are worthy of further exploration.

Educational objectives: After reading the article, the participant will be able: (1) to describe the diverse experiences of Polish people who stutter at different ages, (2) to explain the importance of quality of life analysis in diagnosis and speech therapy with people who stutter, and (3) to explain the breadth of the stuttering phenomenon among Polish individuals who stutter.

Keywords: Assessment; Experience of stuttering; Factor analysis; Overall Assessment of the Speaker’s Experience of Stuttering (OASES).

MeSH terms

Child
Humans
Poland
Quality of Life
Reproducibility of Results
Stuttering* / diagnosis
Surveys and Questionnaires