The impact of stuttering on the daily lives of women who stutter

Mucanje je poremećaj tečnosti govora koji primarno utječe na proizvodnju govora, ali isto tako ima utjecaj i na kvalitetu života i svakodnevni život osoba koja mucaju. Kako je veći udio populacije koja muca muškog spola, postoji ograničen broj istraživanja koji se bavi specifičnim problemima i iskustvima žena koje mucaju (ŽKM). Cilj ovog diplomskog rada bio je dati opis utjecaja mucanja na kvalitetu života i svakodnevni život ŽKM u Republici Hrvatskoj i državama regije. Istraživanje je bilo usmjereno na iskustva iz privatnog života, obrazovanja i zapošljavanja, iskustva s raznim vrstama terapije mucanja, a isto tako željelo se istražiti i smatraju li sudionice da njihov spol tj. činjenica da su žene utječe na reakcije okoline ili na njihovo samo shvaćanje vlastitog mucanja. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 17 ŽKM, od kojih je 10 još pristalo na opširniji intervju. Za potrebe diplomskog rada osmišljen je upitnik Utjecaj mucanja na svakodnevni život ŽKM te popratni intervju. Upitnik je sadržavao 21 pitanje kojima su se prikupljali socio-demografski podaci o ispitanicama, podaci o kvaliteti života, dobi početka mucanja, terapiji i pomoći/samopomoći zbog mucanja te procjenjivala jačina vlastitog mucanja. Intervju je bio podijeljen u četiri cjeline: socio-demografski podaci; utjecaj mucanja na kvalitetu života i svakodnevna iskustva; iskustvo s terapijom te mucanje i žene. Za obradu podataka prikupljenih putem intervjua korištena je kvalitativna analiza sadržaja, a ostala pitanja iz upitnika obrađena su deskriptivnom statistikom. Rezultati su pokazali kako je mucanje utjecalo na aspekte svakodnevnog života kao što su interpersonalni odnosi, karijera, identitet i kvaliteta života. Sudionice su navodile različita iskustva za koja vjeruju da su oblikovala njihove odnose i karijere, a dotaknule su se tema od obiteljske podrške do zlostavljanja u školskim klupama. U iskustvima s terapijom naglašena je važnosti i logopedske i psihološke terapije. Prema rezultatima teme žene i mucanje može se tvrditi da se mucanje ne može promatrati izdvojeno od ženskog identiteta tj. da je sama činjenica da su žene utjecala i na način kako se sudionice istraživanja nose s mucanjem, povezuju s drugima ili kako ih drugi doživljavaju. Zaključno, rezultati daju uvid u specifična iskustva ŽKM i pokazuje da mucanje utječe u većoj ili manjoj mjeri na identitete ŽKM, na njihove svakodnevne živote i na kvalitetu života općenito.Stuttering is a speech fluency disorder which, although it primarily affects speech production, also has an impact on the quality of life and daily lives of people who stutter. As a larger proportion of people who stutter are men, limited research is available regarding the specific experiences of women who stutter (WWS). The aim of this thesis was to give a description of the impact of stuttering on the quality of life and everyday life experiences of WWS in Croatia and neighouring countries. The research focused on experiences from private life, education and employment, experiences with therapies, and also investigated whether participants believed that their gender, specifically the fact that they are women, affected the peoples reactions or their own understanding of their stuttering. 17 WWS participated in the research, of which 10 agreed to a more detailed interview. A questionnaire entitled The impact of stuttering on everyday life of WWS and an accompanying interview had been made for the purpose of conducting this research. The questionnaire contained 21 questions that collected socio-demographic data, data on the quality of life, age of onset of stuttering, therapy and help / self-help for stuttering, and also assessed the severity of their own stuttering. The interview was divided into four parts: socio-demographic data; the impact of stuttering on the quality of life and everyday experiences; experience with therapy, and stuttering and women. Qualitative content analysis was used to process the data collected through the interviews, while other questions from the questionnaire were processed by using descriptive statistics. The results showed how stuttering affected aspects of their daily life such as interpersonal relationships, career, identity, and quality of life. Participants cited a variety of experiences that they believe have shaped their relationships and careers while also touching on topics ranging from family support to bullying in school. In the Experiences with therapy section, they have emphasized the importance of both speech therapy and psychological therapy. According to the results of the Women and stuttering section, it can be argued that stuttering cannot be viewed separate from the women's identity, ie that the fact that they are women influences the way participants deal with stuttering, connect with others or how others perceive them. In conclusion, the results provide insight into the specific experiences of WWS and show that stuttering affects, to a greater or lesser extent, the identities of WWS, their daily lives and the quality of life in general