Social Validation of Post-Treatment Outcomes of Adults Who Stutter Who Participated in the Blank Center CARE^™Model Treatment: Replication and Extension

Abstract

Purpose: Social validation of treatment outcomes provides external validity of treatment from the perspective of untrained observers. To date, clinical efficacy studies of the Blank Center CARE Model indicate post-treatment gains in communication competence from the perspective of the participants and clinicians. An initial social validation study corroborated positive self- and clinician-rated treatment ratings with ratings from the general public for a single participant. The present study was designed to replicate and extend these findings by assessing clinical outcomes from the perspective of untrained observers across multiple participants and contexts. Method: Ten adults who stutter provided communication samples one week before and after completing the Blank Center CARE Model treatment. A total of 1,110 untrained observers were recruited. Each untrained observer rated only one participant at one timepoint (pre-treatment or post-treatment) in one context (dyad or presentation), and each participant was asked to provide only one rating (communication competence or stuttering severity). Results: A significant interaction indicated that post-treatment gains were observed for communication competence, but not stuttering severity, for both contexts. Conclusions: Present findings provide further social validation of the Blank Center CARE Model of treatment. Untrained observers confirmed that participation in this strengths-based approach significantly enhances communication competence. Notably, these changes were observed regardless of pre- to post-treatment stuttering severity, lending additional support to the premise that communication and fluency are independent constructs.