Temperament and developmental stuttering : stammering , and stuttering that resolved spontaneously comparison of typical development showing children's temperament properties

The aim of this study is to explore temperament differences among children with developmental stuttering, children who recovered stuttering spontaneously and their age and gender matched peers with typical development. The study group consists of 150 children with developmental stuttering, children who recovered stuttering spontaneously and children with typical development ranging in age from 3 to 7. In this study, Turkish version of the Children's Behavior Questionnaire Short Form and Conner's Parents Rating Scale were used and the data was analysed by using SPSS 21.0 package program. Pearson correlation analyses, independent- samples t test, Mann Whitney- U test and one way ANOVA tests were used for analyses. The results showed that children who stutter, compared to the TDC, scored significantly higher on the scales of 'Approach / Positive Anticipation', 'Discomfort' 'Fear' and "Negative Affectivity"and lower on the scales of 'Smiling / Laughter'. Age was only correlated with the scale of "Smiling and Laughter" in a positive way while stuttering severity was not associated with either of the temperament dimensions. There was no significant differences between children with stuttering and typically developing children between the ages of 6-7 in terms of "Hyperactivity" dimension of CPRS-48. The scores of children with stuttering in this age group was significantly higher then the control group in the "Learning Deficit / Attention Deficit" dimension. The scores of children between 5 - 7 who recovered spontaneously were significantly higher than their age and gender matched peers with developmental stuttering on the scales of "Attentional Focusing", "Inhibitory Control" and "Effortful Control" and lower on the scales of "Shyness", "Approach /Positive Anticipation", "Discomfort" and "Negative Affectivity". The scores of children who stutter were significantly lower than their peerswith typical development on the scale of "Inhibitory Control". Key words: developmental stuttering, temperament, spontaneous recovery