Middle Eastern Journal of Disability Studies

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Saeidmanesh M, Sedaghatpur Haghighi M. Effect of Hypnosis Therapy on Anxiety and Self-esteem among Stuttering Children. MEJDS 2017; 7 :61-61
URL: http://jdisabilstud.org/article-1-880-en.html

Abstract
Background & Objecctive: For children and teens, the acquisition of language has a profound effect on their growth. Effective verbal ability is needed for playing, communication with peers, academic achievement, general knowledge and behavioral and emotional development. Conversely, if the child's communicative function is even mild, there is a harmful social impact and an increased risk of psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, stress, depression, low self-esteem, and etc. Stuttering is a motor disorder that disrupts the fluent and connected speech flow and appears with different severities. Though in exceptional cases it starts in early childhood at the age range of   2-4, the onset of stuttering is in the age range of 6 to 7, simultaneously with the development of emotional and social adaptability. This is a time when children are most susceptible to this disorder. This disorder is more common among boys than girls. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of hypnosis therapy on anxiety and self-esteem among stuttering children.
Methods: This is a two-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study. The population consisted of all people at the age range of 8 to 12 years’ old who were referred to Shiraz city Welfare Center during 2016-2017. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 34 participants. The participants were assigned to the experimental and control groups in equal numbers. The experimental group received 5 sessions of hypnosis therapy. To measure the variables, the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS), the Pope Self-Esteem Questionnaire (AP-SEI) were used. Pope scale consists of 60 questions and evaluates self-esteem on 5 scales: Global Scale, Academic Scale, Body Scale, Family Scale, and Social Scale. The maximum score for each scale is 20 points, and the total score for each scale was used for the evaluation.  The Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) is a psychological questionnaire designed to identify symptoms of various anxiety disorders, specifically social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder/agoraphobia, and other forms of anxiety, in children and adolescents between ages 8 and 15. Developed by Susan H. Spence and available in various languages, the 45 question test can be filled out by the child or by the parent. There is also another version of the test with 34 statements designed for children in preschool between ages 2.5 and 6.5.  A form of the test takes approximately 5 to 10 minutes to complete. The questionnaire has shown good reliability and validity in recent studies. At the end of the treatment sessions, subjects of each group were tested. In the data analysis, independent t-test and dependent t-test were used to examine the hypotheses. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version was used to analyze the data.
Result: The results of this study showed that Hypnotherapy has been effective in improving, dimensions and components of anxiety and self-esteem (p<0.05). 
Conclusion: Hypnotherapy can be used as an effective treatment for stuttering children to reduce anxiety symptom and increase self-esteem of stuttering children.