Stuttering and Labor Market Outcomes in the United States

Hope Gerlach; Evan Totty; Anu Subramanian; Patricia Zebrowski

doi:10.1044/2018_JSLHR-S-17-0353

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Stuttering and Labor Market Outcomes in the United States

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Stuttering and Labor Market Outcomes in the United States

Hope Gerlach, Evan Totty, Anu Subramanian and Patricia Zebrowski

Journal of speech, language, and hearing research, Vol.61(7), pp.1649-1663

07/01/2018

DOI: 10.1044/2018_JSLHR-S-17-0353

PMCID: PMC6195060

PMID: 29933430

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Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to quantify relationships between stuttering and labor market outcomes, determine if outcomes differ by gender, and explain the earnings difference between people who stutter and people who do not stutter. Method: Survey and interview data were obtained from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Of the 13,564 respondents who completed 4 waves of surveys over 14 years and answered questions about stuttering, 261 people indicated that they stutter. Regression analysis, propensity score matching, and Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition were used. Results: After controlling for numerous variables related to demographics and comorbidity, the deficit in earnings associated with stuttering exceeded $7,000. Differences in observable characteristics between people who stutter and people who do not stutter (e.g., education, occupation, self-perception, hours worked) accounted for most of the earnings gap for males but relatively little for females. Females who stutter were also 23% more likely to be underemployed than females who do not stutter. Conclusions: Stuttering was associated with reduced earnings and other gender-specific disadvantages in the labor market. Preliminary evidence indicates that discrimination may have contributed to the earnings gap associated with stuttering, particularly for females.

Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology

Life Sciences & Biomedicine

Linguistics

Rehabilitation

Science & Technology

Social Sciences

Details

Title: Subtitle: Stuttering and Labor Market Outcomes in the United States
Creators: Hope Gerlach - University of Iowa
Evan Totty - Purdue University West Lafayette
Anu Subramanian - University of Iowa
Patricia Zebrowski - University of Iowa
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of speech, language, and hearing research, Vol.61(7), pp.1649-1663
DOI: 10.1044/2018_JSLHR-S-17-0353
PMID: 29933430
PMCID: PMC6195060
NLM abbreviation: J Speech Lang Hear Res
ISSN: 1092-4388
eISSN: 1558-9102
Publisher: AMER SPEECH-LANGUAGE-HEARING ASSOC
Number of pages: 15
Grant note: P01-HD31921 / Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Language: English
Date published: 07/01/2018
Academic Unit: Communication Sciences and Disorders
Record Identifier: 9984258850002771

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