Attitudes of East Asian People Towards Communication Disorders in Aotearoa New Zealand

Background: Attitudes towards communication disorders have been mostly shown to be negative (Hopf et al., 2017). Most research has been done in the West, but little is known about it in a New Zealand setting or within East Asian populations. Aims: This study aimed to explore the cultural trends in the attitudes of lay people with Chinese, Japanese, and Korean backgrounds about communication disorders in a New Zealand setting within a socio-cultural framework of disability (McDermott & Varenne, 1995; Threats, 2008; Tomblin & Christiansen, 2010). Methods: A mixed-method study was conducted with a particular focus on qualitative components (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). The primary data was collected from semi-structured interviews (N=25), and this was supplemented by the data collected from self-reports in a questionnaire (N=193). Discourse analysis (Gee, 2011, 2014) and conversation analysis (Goodwin & Heritage, 1990; Hutchby, 2019; Wooffitt, 2005) were employed to analyse participants’ verbal and non-verbal responses. Reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022) was used to analyse cultural values prominent in participants’ responses with a particular focus on face as defined by Qi (2011, 2017). Participants’ responses were grouped into three categories: cognitive (beliefs), affective (feelings), and behavioural (intentions and action tendencies) aspects of attitudes, as defined by Eagly and Chaiken (1993). Results: Participants varied in their understanding of communication disorders, particularly around the failure to sense implied meaning. Two types of inconsistencies were prominent in participants’ responses: (1) self-reports of their own attitudes which differed from their responses about other people’s negative attitudes; and (2) conflicting attitudes expressed by the participants themselves. These inconsistencies were likely to indicate participants’ attempts to manage face by addressing violations against social expectations. Five cultural values were prominent: conformity and social obligation were shared across the participant groups, while competitiveness, collective identity, and social harmony highlighted cultural differences. Discussion: Cultural similarities and differences across the participant groups indicated that these populations should not be overgeneralised. The prevalence of negative attitudes towards communication disorders will impact the lives of people with these disabilities and their significant others with regards to readiness for therapy, help-seeking behaviour, engagement, goal development, and relationship building. Cultural competence of speech-language therapists is essential.

Name thesis:degree_name

PhD

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Speech Science

Grantor dc:publisher

ResearchSpace@Auckland

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Panther, Noriko Koyama

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Ballard, Elaine
• Hand, Linda

• Communication disorders
• speech-language therapy
• attitudes
• cultural values
• cultural awareness
• Chinese
• Japanese
• Korean

Statement dc:rights

• Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2292/72608

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchspace.auckland.ac.nz:2292/72608