Selective Mutism and its Relationship to Social Phobia in Students with Learning Disabilities from a Mother's Perspective

Abstract

The current study aimed to identify selective mutism in students with learning disabilities and to identify differences in selective mutism among students with learning disabilities according to gender (male-female). To identify social phobia disorder among students with learning difficulties and to identify the differences in social phobia disorder among students with learning difficulties according to the gender variable (males - females). To identify the nature of the relationship between selective mutism disorder and social phobia disorder. The research was conducted on a sample of (118) students with learning difficulties in the primary stage studying in Baghdad Governorate schools affiliated with the Third Karkh Directorate, whose ages ranged from (7-9) and of both sexes for the academic year (2024-2025). The researcher adopted the Al-Nashi and Nasser scale (2018) and constructed a social phobia disorder scale and extracted its psychometric properties. The results showed: 1. A large number of students (101 out of 118) suffer from selective mutism disorder with scores exceeding the hypothetical average. 2. There are no statistically significant differences in selective mutism according to gender. 3. That students suffer from high scores in social phobia compared to the hypothetical average. 4. There were significant differences in social phobia in favor of females. Pearson's correlation coefficient (r = 0.81) indicated a strong positive relationship between the two disorders.