Social and family characteristics of children with stuttering in Tunisia

Abstract

Introduction

Stuttering constitutes for children a psychological and social disability, in which the environmental context plays an important role in the installation, stabilization and aggravation or attenuation.

Objective

Our study aims to describe the socio-familial characteristics of children with stuttering.

Patients and methods

This is a descriptive and analytical-retrospective study carried out on 80 children with stuttering and had been followed-up in the child psychiatry department of UMC Hédi Chaker Sfax (Tunisia) for more than 3 years (January 2012 to 31 December 2013).

Results

In our study, the prevalence of stuttering in child psychiatry consultation department of Sfax is 4%. Most of the patients were either the youngest (36.25% of cases) or seniors (35% of cases).

Personal history of speech disorder had been reported in 8 children (10% of cases). Family history of speech disorder was reported in 33.75% of cases. These disorders had been kind of stuttering in 60.66% of cases, speech delay in 18.52% of cases and sound speech disorder in 7.41% of cases.

The parent–child relationship is marked by a parental rigidity in 18.6% of cases. The existence of triggering factor was noted in 37.5% of cases: traumatic situation (30% of cases), the birth of a younger sibling (22% case).

Conclusion

The emergence and evolution of stuttering depend on predisposing, precipitating and chronicisants factors. Identifying these factors and adopting a favorable parental attitude contribute to the fight against stuttering in children and, at least, avoid aggravation and chronicity of this disorder.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.