Correlation between Dysphonia and voice self-concept

Introduction:

This study investigates the correlation between objectively measurable Dysphonia and voice self-concept. It thereby offers a contribution to answering the question whether or not the voice self-concept is influenced by Dysphonia.

Material and Methods:

In a practice of neurology and psychiatry, the data of 517 participants was gathered in the form of the Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) and the “Questionnaire for the assessment of the voice self-concept” (FESS for German: Fragebogen zur Erfassung des stimmlichen Selbstkonzepts), which entails three scales. The correlation-coefficient used for the analysis was Pearson's.

Results:

The “Relationship with one's own voice” (scale 1) shows a nearly inconsequential correlation of r =-0,09 to the AVQI (p = 0,043). For patients with a poor voice-quality, the relationship with their own voice was only minimally less strong, than for patients with a high voice-quality.

The “awareness of the use of one's own voice” (scale 2) and the connection between “voice and emotion” (scale 3) do not correlate significantly with the quality of voice as measured using the AVQI.

Conclusion:

The application of the AVQI in the setting of a doctor's practice can be described as unproblematic. The data represents the current voice-quality, not a long-term voice-quality average. Whether changes in voice-quality influence the voice self-concept has not been measured directly.

The data does not indicate that the self-concept of one's own voice changes with its quality. Furthermore, individuals who actively deal with their voice do not show a higher voice-quality than those who do not.

Publication History

Publication Date:
18 April 2018 (online)