Self-Disclosure Experiences of Adults Who Stutter: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Abstract

Purpose: Self-disclosure describes the act of revealing personal information to another person. To date, researchers in the area of stuttering have primarily demonstrated the utility of self-disclosure through analysis of listener perceptions. This study explores the utility of informative self-disclosure use from the perspectives of adults who stutter with experience using this strategy over time and across contexts. Method: Twelve adults who stutter discussed their self-disclosure experiences in semistructured interviews. Interview transcripts were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis to produce themes reflecting the most salient aspects of self-disclosure experiences. Credibility was achieved through bracketing, investigator triangulation, and member checking. Results: Four superordinate themes reflecting experiences shared by all 12 participants were generated. Each superordinate theme contained two to three corresponding subthemes. The superordinate themes included cognitive relief, self-empowerment, social connection, and personalization. These findings reflect the positive impact of informative self-disclosure use on communication and quality of life. Conclusions: Adults who stutter perceive informative self-disclosure to be an effective strategy that provides various benefits to the speaker, in addition to facilitating positive listener perceptions. Clinicians should encourage clients to self-disclose in an informative and personalized manner, provide opportunities for practice, and support clients in determining when and where it is most beneficial for them to implement this strategy.

Self-perceived communication competence of adults who stutter following Communication-Centered Treatment (CCT)

“…The 22-session CCT approach is informed by the speaker's experience with stuttering, and reflective of contemporary definitions of this complex condition (for manual, see Byrd, 2023b; also see Byrd, 2021;Constantino, 2018;Watermeyer & Kathard, 2016;Usler, 2022). Unlike fluency-centered approaches that are rooted in ableism (i.e., fixing a disabling condition), and impose societal pressures to conform to speaking fluently, CCT facilitates authenticity, and spontaneity in the communication exchanges of those who stutter (Byrd et al, 2021;Byrd et al, 2023;Young et al, 2022).…”

“…A larger sample size would enable exploration of additional clinical and psychosocial predictors of self-perceived communication competence, such as self-reported participation in communication situations in daily life, frequency and use of self-disclosure, self-compassion, and/or self-stigma. Given the potential relationship between these variables and self-perceived communication competence (Boyle, 2013;Boyle, 2015;Croft & Byrd, 2020;Werle & Byrd, 2022;Young et al, 2022), clarifying the relative contribution of each would allow for more precise and effective clinical intervention.…”

Self Disclosure Analysis of Alter Account Users on Twitter: A Social Media Study

“…Self-disclosure by Wood (2012) is defined as a situation in which an individual discloses something that is unknown to others about himself. The concept of self-disclosure is also explained by Maryam (2018) as a psychological response shown by an individual by disclosing personal aspects to others through various media (Gabel et al, 2022;McGill et al, 2018).…”