Life events and difficulties preceding the onset of functional dysphonia

The Bedford College Life Events and Difficulties Schedule was used to determine the experiences of 56 women and 9 men who were interviewed about the 12 months before the onset of functional dysphonia. Thirty (54%) of the women had experienced a difficulty or event which involved conflict over speaking out (CSO), a dimension developed during the course of the study. Only 16% of a comparison group had such experiences. Other types of event and difficulty were no commoner in the dysphonic women than in the comparison group.