Modeling stuttering etiology: Clarifying levels of description and measurement

The clarity and applicability of the "demands and capacities model" (DCM) o f stuttering development has been challenged by a number of investigators. In this article, both the helpful and deleterious aspects of the DCM are di scussed with a view toward the complexity and utility of multifactorial mod els of stuttering in general. Issues related to the description and measure ment of pertinent variables and two promising multifactorial characterizati ons of stuttering development are highlighted. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science In c.