How do individuals cope with voice disorders? Introducing the Voice Disability Coping Questionnaire

Area of Science:

• Psychological Medicine
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Coping mechanisms are crucial for managing illness-related stress.
• Limited research exists on how individuals cope with voice disorders.
• Voice problems can significantly impact life beyond vocal function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore and validate the Voice Disability Coping Questionnaire (VDCQ).
• To identify coping strategies used by patients with voice disorders.
• To differentiate coping mechanisms between different clinical voice disorder groups.

Main Methods:

• A 28-item Voice Disability Coping Questionnaire (VDCQ) was administered to 80 subjects with muscle tension dysphonia (MTD) and adductor spasmodic dysphonia (ASD).
• Principal component analyses (PCA) were used to determine the questionnaire's underlying structure.
• Analyses of variance (ANOVA) were employed to compare coping strategies between MTD and ASD groups.

Main Results:

• PCA identified four coping subscales: social support, passive coping, avoidance, and information seeking.
• The VDCQ demonstrated logical correlations between its subscales.
• The adductor spasmodic dysphonia (ASD) group utilized avoidance and passive coping strategies significantly more than the muscle tension dysphonia (MTD) group.

Conclusions:

• The Voice Disability Coping Questionnaire (VDCQ) shows initial evidence of validity and reliability.
• The VDCQ can differentiate between clinical groups experiencing voice disorders.
• This measure can support a patient-centered approach to understanding and managing voice disorders.