Investigating the Development and Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of the Stuttering Related Quality of Life Questionnaire

Objectives: People who stutter (PWS) experience many problems in their lives in addition to speech fluency disorder. Meanwhile, stuttering reduces their quality of life (QoL). QoL depends on different social, economic, and cultural conditions of societies. Considering that there is no specific questionnaire to investigate the QoL in Iranian PWS; this study develops and evaluates the psychometric properties of a stuttering related QoL questionnaire (SRQoLQ). Methods: First, by interviewing ۱۱ PWS, with the help of ۱۰ speech-language pathologists in the stuttering field, in addition to reviewing the literature, initial items were developed and a preliminary version of the SRQoLQ was designed. The content validity of the SRQoLQ was evaluated using two qualitative and quantitative methods (determining content validity ratio and content validity index) using the opinions of ۱۲ experts. The qualitative method was also used to determine the face validity and interviews were conducted with ۱۰ PWS. Finally, the reliability of the SRQoLQ was investigated through internal consistency and test re-test reliability with the participation of ۸۳ and ۳۰ PWS, respectively. Results: Interviews with PWS and experts in addition to literature review led to the development of a questionnaire with ۴۰ items. After determining content and face validity, the number of items in the SRQoLQ was reduced to ۳۲. The results of calculating the Cronbach α coefficient showed the appropriate reliability of the SRQoLQ (۰.۹۶). The intraclass correlation coefficient of the SRQoLQ items in the test re-test phase ranged from ۰.۶ to ۰.۹۵. Moreover, the intraclass correlation coefficient value of the SRQoLQ was ۰.۹۵. Discussion: A suitable tool was developed to evaluate the QoL of PWS, and its psychometric properties were investigated. Based on the results, the SRQoLQ for PWS is a valid and reliable tool with ۳۲ items that can be used for clinical or research purposes in the field of stuttering.

کلیدواژه ها:

Stuttering ، Quality of life (QoL) ، Adults ، Assessment ، Validity ، Reliability