Organizing the voice questionnaire for transgender persons

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Endocrinology
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Transgender individuals undergoing cross-sex hormone therapy (CSHT) utilize voice questionnaires for self-perception evaluation.
• The Transsexual Voice Questionnaire Male to Female (TVQ^MtF) and Female to Male (TVQ^FtM) are 30-item instruments used in CSHT follow-up.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the organizational structure of the TVQ^MtF and TVQ^FtM questionnaires.
• To determine if factor analysis can reveal underlying dimensions within these voice self-perception tools.

Main Methods:

• Factor analysis was applied to data from 145 trans women and 83 trans men who completed the TVQ^MtF or TVQ^FtM at the start of CSHT.
• The analysis aimed to identify latent factors within the questionnaire responses.

Main Results:

• Factor analyses revealed a consistent three-factor structure for both the TVQ^MtF and TVQ^FtM.
• The identified factors were labeled as anxiety and avoidance, vocal identity, and vocal function.

Conclusions:

• Both the TVQ^MtF and TVQ^FtM questionnaires can be organized into three distinct factors.
• This structural understanding may facilitate the development of shorter questionnaire versions for efficient clinical use.
• Shorter versions could aid physicians in rapidly identifying voice issues in transgender patients undergoing hormone treatment.