Özet:

Objective: This study aimed to compare the peer relations of preschool children who stutter and their fluent peers. Materials and Methods: The sample comprised 90 children between 5 and 6 years of age, with (n = 45) and without (n = 45) stuttering, and their class teachers. The Child Behavior scale, the Peer Victimization Scale, and the Child Information Form were used as data collection tools. The data were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U-test and the chi-square test in the SPSS package program. Results: The results revealed significant differences between the children who stutter and their fluent peers in terms of the “asocial with peers,” “excluded by peers,” “anxious-fearful behaviors,” “withdrawn behaviors,” and “hyperactive-distractible” subscales of the Child Behavior Scale (P <.05). The children who stutter received significantly higher scores from all of these subscales, compared to their fluent peers. No significant difference was observed between the groups in terms of the subscales in the Child Behavior Scale including “aggressive with peers” and “prosocial with peers” (P > .05). In addition, the children who stutter received significantly higher “peer victimization” scores from the Peer Victimization Scale than their fluent peers (P < .05). Finally, there were significantly more children who experienced difficulty in adapting to school in the stuttering group (P < .05). Conclusion: Preschool children who stutter differ significantly from their fluent peers in terms of some subscales of peer relations. The findings highlight the need for cooperation between professionals such as speech and language therapists, educators, school counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists, taking into account the peer relations of children who stutter. Cite this article as: Kayhan Aktürk Ş, Özdemir RS. A comparison of peer relations between preschool children who stutter and their fluent peers. Arch Health Sci Res. 8(3):153- 159.

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