Demographic Characteristics and Association between selected demographic variables and income among adults with stammering

Abstract

Background: Stammering, also known as stuttering, is a fluency disorder of speech that is considered to be a chronic condition affecting communication confidence, psychosocial outcomes, and participation in social and occupational settings. Although traditional treatment of stuttering is based on speech mechanics, recent evidence shows that psychological and motivational factors play an important role in determining outcomes in adult stutterers. Objective: To investigate demographic variables and their possible associations with income in adult stutterers, with a broader conceptual framework of motivational and psychological outcomes. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional observational study was carried out among 60 diagnosed stutterers from The University of Lahore Teaching Hospital and Social Security Hospital, Lahore, in 2025. A proforma was designed to collect demographic data from stutterers. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 25.0.Results: The sample consisted of mostly young to middle-aged stutterers with moderate educational status and multilingual speech abilities. Pearson correlation was carried out to analyze possible associations between income and age, gender, and education, showing weak, non-significant correlations between income and age (r = 0.095), gender (r = -0.157), and education (r = -0.200). Multiple regression was performed to examine the predictive power of age, gender, and education on income, showing a non-significant regression equation (p = 0.239) with an R² of 7.2% to predict income, with no individual demographic variable showing a significant effect on income. Conclusion: Demographic variables had limited explanatory potential in predicting income among stutterers, suggesting a need to incorporate psychological and motivational outcomes in future research to better comprehend outcomes in stutterers and design effective treatment strategies to improve their communication outcomes.