“Well, I Don’t Cut Him Off Anymore:” Developing and Maintaining Friendships in the University Setting for People Who Stutter

University is considered by many people who stutter (PWS) to be a challenging time due to the classroom speaking tasks and overcoming negative perceptions associated with their condition (Ruscello et al., 1994). As a result, social isolation often occurs because of these added pressures (Azios et al., 2022). Social isolation and loneliness can result in negative outcomes, including depression and social anxiety (Beutel et al., 2017). In the field of communication disorders, developing and maintaining friendships has shown to reduce social isolation and play a major role in improved psychological well-being (Brown et al., 2012). It would seem logical then to better understand how friendships are developed and maintained with people who stutter in the university setting, which in turn can have major clinical implications. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to better understand how friendships are created and maintained at the university setting.

Methods and Results

Qualitative methods were used to capture the experiences of the participants (Tetnowski & Damico, 2001). Semi-structured interviews were administered to eight friends of people who stutter attending university, which allowed for greater exploration into the friendship phenomena. Data analysis was performed in a cyclical fashion until patterns and themes emerged.

Examples of questions that initiated discussion:

Tell me about the first time you met your friend who stutters?

How would you describe your role as a friend?

What have you learned about stuttering through your friend?

Do you think stuttering impacted his/her college experience in anyway?

Thematic analysis of transcripts revealed four themes relating to friendship development and maintenance during university: understanding the lived experience of stuttering, there is a calibration process, rescue role, and stuttering is a non-issue. Overall, findings highlighted the valued role of friendship in living successfully with stuttering, while also providing evidence of how friendships change and evolve in both negative and positive ways. Clinicians are challenged to work creatively to address the role of friendship with people who stutter and those impacted by stuttering.