Psychometric Evaluation of a Persian Version of Beliefs about Emotions Scale in Community and Clinical Samples: A Comparative Study

Ala Ghaphanchi, Maryam Bitarafan, Katharine Rimes, Hamid Zarabi, Fatemah Derakhshan, Mohammad Derakhshan, Alireza Shamsi, Sepideh Ghanadanzadeh, Helena Whitley, Imaneh Abasi*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective: Stuttering is a type of communication and fluency disorder that hurts mental and emotional health. It is also associated with a significant increase in both trait and social anxiety. Studies on stuttering in adults have indicated the nature and impact of this phenomenon. In addition, some psychological aspects of this phenomenon remain vague and need further investigation. Therefore, the present study aimed to compare emotion regulation difficulties, repetitive negative thinking, and experiential avoidance between people who stutter and healthy individuals. Method: In this study, 101 people who stutter (43 females and 58 males, with a mean age of 29.55 ± 187 years), as well as 110 healthy individuals (74 females and 36 males, with a mean age of 25.57 ± 489 years) as participants were chosen using the convenience sampling method among those who referred to the speech therapy clinics of Tehran, Iran. Research instruments including the repetitive negative thinking inventory, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, and Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-I) were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using multivariate ANOVA test and Multiple Regression Analysis. Results: The mean age of the participants was 29.55 years in the people who stutter and 25.57 years in the healthy individuals (P < 0.01). The present results indicated that the mean score of experiential avoidance was higher in the people who stutter (M ± SD: 35.74 ± 9.24) compared to the healthy individuals (M ± SD: 8.89 ± 31.11). Additionally, the mean score of emotion regulation difficulties was higher in the people who stutter (M ± SD: 88.75 ± 20.59) compared to the healthy individuals (M ± SD: 64.14 ± 94.94) (P < 0.001). However, there was no significant difference in the mean score of repetitive negative thinking between the people who stutter (M ± SD: 98.45 ± 25.85) and healthy individuals (M ± SD: 93.71 ± 25.24) groups (P > 0.05). There was a significant correlation between experiential avoidance and emotion regulation difficulties in people who stutter (P < 0.01). Experiential avoidance and repetitive negative thinking can significantly predict emotion regulation difficulties in people who stutter (R = 0.65, P < 0.01). Conclusion: People who stutter obtained higher emotion regulation difficulties and experiential avoidance scores than those without stuttering and A significant correlation between experiential avoidance and emotion regulation difficulties was found. Future studies should consider the role of emotion regulation difficulties and experiential avoidance in people who stutter.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)79-88
Number of pages10
JournalIranian Journal of Psychiatry
Volume19
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2024

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