Chaima Bencheikh

Psycholinguistics, with a focus on Speech and Language Pathology and Sociocultural Perspectives on Stuttering:
• childhood stuttering,
• parental beliefs, knowledge, and attitudes,
• culture and communication disorders,
• immigrant families and therapy engagement,
• qualitative research in multilingual and multicultural contexts.

Chaima Bencheikh is a graduate in linguistics with a Master's degree in Language Sciences (English). She completed both her bachelor's and master's studies with first rank in her cohort. Her academic interests developed around childhood stuttering, speech and language disorders, and the ways environment, like culture, can shape how communication difficulties are understood and responded to by parents.
In addition to her academic training, she has worked as a part-time university teacher in Algeria for almost two years, where she gained practical experience in teaching and working with students. She is especially interested in qualitative and interdisciplinary research, specifically in areas that connect language, culture, and communication disorders.

Exploring Syrian Immigrant Parents' Beliefs, Knowledge, and Attitudes Toward Childhood Stuttering in Germany: A Qualitative Study

Duration: 2026–2029

Aims
This PhD project explores how Syrian immigrant parents in Germany understand and respond to their children's stuttering. It focuses on the cultural beliefs, knowledge, and social expectations that shape parental attitudes toward stuttering, as well as their trust in and engagement with the German speech-therapy system. The study aims to contribute to a more culturally sensitive understanding of childhood stuttering and Syrian family support in Germany.

Method
This research follows an interpretivist qualitative design and combines semi-structured interviews with focus group discussions (Krueger & Casey, 2014). Data will be collected in Arabic from Syrian parents of children who stutter and analyzed through Qualitative Content Analysis (Kuckartz & Rädiker, 2022). The data will be translated into English after the analysis and interpretation phases, to maintain the subjective and cultural meanings of participants.