Stuttering and Labor Market Outcomes in the United States

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.

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