ACQ
Volume 12, Number 2 2010
75
their stuttering. Davis, Howell, and Cooke (2002) found that
children who stutter were less accepted socially, less likely to
be perceived as leaders, and more likely to be bullied than
non-stuttering children. Taken together, this suggests that
children who stutter may be at a greater risk of being bullied
than are children who do not stutter.
Reported consequences of bullying for children who
stutter are consistent with those reported for typical children.
In a retrospective study by Hugh-Jones and Smith (1999),
adult participants who stutter reported experiencing the
following negative effects of being bullied as children: loss of
self-confidence and self-esteem, anxiety, shyness, shame,
depression, difficulty making and maintaining friendships,
truancy, and increased speech problems. A recent cross-
sectional study by Blood and Blood (2007) found that boys
who stutter and who reported being frequently bullied were
more likely to have higher levels of anxiety.
Coping strategies and children who stutter
Research focusing on the coping strategies used by children
who stutter to deal with bullying is limited. An interesting
finding by Davis et al. (2002) was that children who stutter
tended to project social profiles similar to those projected by
their classmates. The authors suggested that these results
might indicate that children who stutter seek to avoid
standing out and try to be as much like their classmates as
possible to avoid being bullied.
In a report that included case presentations, Langevin,
Kully, and Ross-Harold (2007) described the resolution
strategies that helped two children who stutter and who had
been teased. For one child, the teasing stopped when his
friends stood up for him. For the other child, the problem
was resolved when the teacher intervened. Murphy, Yaruss,
and Quesal (2007) described a case in which a 9-year-old
boy reported that he no longer had concerns about being
bullied after he participated in the bullying component of their
therapy. This component involved problem-solving activities
in which the boy learned effective ways of dealing with
bullying in addition to preparing a presentation to make to
his class in order to educate his classmates about stuttering.
In Turnbull’s (2006) case study, two speech-language
pathologists made a presentation about stuttering to the
class of a 10-year-old girl who stuttered. In the presentation,
the speech-language pathologists talked about stuttering
and how to interact positively with children who stutter. After
the presentation, the girl who stuttered and her classroom
teacher gave positive feedback about the presentation.
Current suggestions for interventions for
children who stutter and who are victims
The common components of current suggestions for helping
children who stutter deal with bullying include teaching the
child about bullying, discussing possible response strategies,
and educating the child’s classmates about stuttering in
order to create a more supportive classroom environment
(Langevin, 2000; Langevin et al., 2007; Murphy & Quesal,
2002; Murphy et al., 2007; Turnbull, 2006). An important
aspect of the works of Langevin, Langevin et al. and Murphy
and Quesal is helping the child to differentiate between
friendly teasing and teasing in which there is an intention to
harm. These researchers also focus on ways to increase the
child’s assertiveness and self-esteem. All of the interventions
make use of role-playing to help the child who stutters
practise and evaluate his or her responses to bullying
scenarios and try out new responses.
the large majority of children who are victims, whereas
provocative victims make up between 10% and 20% of
the victim group (Olweus, 2001). Passive victims have
been shown to be shy, anxious, sensitive, and submissive
(Olweus, 1993). In contrast, provocative victims show a
combination of anxious and aggressive patterns and may
be hot-tempered and retaliate ineffectively (Olweus, 1993).
In addition to these intrapersonal characteristics, children’s
social status (i.e., their interpersonal relations) can place
them at risk of being bullied. Children who have few friends
or are rejected by the peer group are easy targets because
it is less likely that the peer group will defend them (see
Salmivalli & Peets, 2009).
Coping strategies
The following review focuses on coping strategies used by
typical children that have been associated with the
escalation or perpetuation of bullying and with the de-
escalation or escape from bullying. In general, research has
shown that behaviours associated with the escalation or
perpetuation of bullying include: (a) aggressive/externalising
responses to bullying (e.g., getting angry, losing one’s “cool”,
and using verbal or physical counter-aggression), (b) helpless
behaviour (e.g., being paralysed with fear or being unable to
respond in any way), and (c) internalising (e.g., engaging in
self-blame for the bullying) (Kochenderfer-Ladd & Skinner,
2002; Mahady Wilton, Craig, & Pepler, 2000; Salmivalli,
Karhunen, & Lagerspetz, 1996).
In contrast, instrumental coping (e.g., using constructive
actions and problem-solving), and passive coping (e.g.,
ignoring, acquiescence/compliance, and avoidance) were
found to be associated with de-escalation or resolution of
observed bullying episodes (Mahady Wilton et al., 2000).
However, Mahady Wilton and colleagues noted that passive
coping responses may actually perpetuate the cycle of
bullying because these strategies may be reinforcing for both
the child who bullies and the child who is victimised. That is,
the child who bullies achieves the desired personal gain, and
the child who is victimised receives temporary relief when the
bullying episode ends.
Other coping strategies associated with diminished
bullying or cessation of bullying include nonchalance,
particularly for boys (Salmivalli et al., 1996), and conflict
resolution (Kochenderfer-Ladd, 2004). When acting
nonchalant, the victim stays calm, acts as if the bullying is
not being taken seriously, or acts as if he/she does not care
(Salmivalli et al.). Conflict resolution strategies include talking
to someone, telling the perpetrator to stop, making a plan
for how to get along with the perpetrator in the future, taking
some time to cool off, and using ‘I’ messages (Kochenderfer-
Ladd). Finally, talking to someone and making more friends
was found to be associated with escape from victimisation
(Smith, Talamelli, Cowie, Naylor, & Chauhan, 2004).
Bullying and children who stutter
In regard to children who stutter, Langevin, Bortnick,
Hammer, and Wiebe (1998) found that of the 27 children
who stutter and were surveyed, 81% reported being teased
or bullied about stuttering or about other things. Fifty-nine
percent were teased or bullied about their stuttering, and
56% of this group were teased or bullied about their
stuttering once a week or more often. Sixty-nine percent of
the children were teased about other things, and 50% of this
group were teased or bullied about other things once a week
or more often. Participants reported that children most
frequently called them names, or imitated or made fun of