Hope Gerlach
Biography
The stigma associated with stuttering is toxic to psychological health outcomes among adults who stutter (AWS). Compared to fluent speakers, AWS are vulnerable to experiencing elevated levels of anxiety. Yet, there is variability in anxiety levels within the population of AWS, and little is known about why some people struggle to cope while others are resilient. The aim of my dissertation is to investigate the extent that stigma-identity constructs explain variability in anxiety among AWS.