psychoneurosis

A nervous disorder or an emotional maladjustment which results in or involves deviate behavior: an abnormality of the personality structure which is a disguised reaction to some psychic irritant. In the medical field the theory is widely held that stuttering is a symptom of a psychoneurotic condition, but most speech-language pathologist appear to reject largely or wholly the view that stuttering is a primary psychoneurosis. (See neurosis.)

• Stuttering