Reprise: Farewell reticence, good‐by apprehension! Building a practical nosology of speech communication problems

An attempt to validate four major measures of speech communication problems on a defined sample of students with observable, reportable speech communication problems was undertaken. Results of discriminant analysis when the scores on the four scales are entered into the analysis suggest that the scales are not capable of discriminating students with problems from students without. Although factor analysis of all items produced seven factors which indicated underlying situational concerns rather than general anxiety, when scores on the factors were entered into discriminant analysis, the results suggested that situational factor scales are incapable of distinguishing those who have communication problems from those who do not. The authors conclude that what may be most important in distinguishing the two groups is whether or not persons perceive their uncomfortable feelings about communication as problems. Phenomenological analysis may be the appropriate method for uncovering the discriminating variables.