Effect of Auditory Distractors on Divided Attention in Adults with Stuttering

Abstract

Background: Stuttering has been increasingly associated with deficits in attention control mechanisms, especially when individuals are required to divide or shift their attention across multiple streams of information. This difficulty becomes more apparent in tasks that demand simultaneous processing, such as those involving dual tasks or competing auditory stimuli, where efficient allocation of cognitive resources is essential. Aim: To investigate the effect of auditory distractors on divided attention scores using the dichotic digit test (DDT) in neurotypical adults and adults with stuttering. Method: A total of 32 young male adults in the age range of 18 to 40 years old (M: 23.93 ± 1.03) were recruited. Participants were matched across the two groups based on age, language, and education level. The participants for the study included 16 neurotypical adults and 16 adults with stuttering (AWS). All participants were right-handed and demonstrated typical auditory processing abilities as indicated on the SCAP-A screening. The divided attention scores for the first and the last pair using the dichotic digit test were obtained with and without auditory distractors. The auditory distractor employed was a four-talker babble mixed with digits at 0 dB SNR. Results: The data exhibited non-normal distribution, necessitating the use of the Wilcoxon signed rank test for within group and Mann-Whitney U test for between group comparisons. The results indicated a significant difference (p<0.001) in divided attention of the first pair and last pair with and without auditory distractors in both the groups. In addition, the difference in scores on divided attention for the first and last pair was higher in AWS group compared to neurotypical adults, which indicated AWS are more susceptible to auditory distractors for both first and last pairs of stimuli on divided attention. Conclusions: Auditory distractors adversely affected divided attention in both groups, with AWS showing greater susceptibility. These findings suggest that stuttering may be linked to deficits in attentional control, particularly under conditions requiring concurrent processing of competing auditory information. The results highlight the importance of considering cognitive load and distractibility in the assessment and management of stuttering.