Voice Disorders and Personality: New Steps on an Old Path

Area of Science:

• Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology
• Explores the intersection of personality traits and vocal health conditions.

Background:

• Previous research has not consistently identified specific personality traits associated with voice disorders.
• Understanding personality correlates of voice disorders can offer new diagnostic and therapeutic insights.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between voice disorders and personality traits using the NEO-FFI Big Five inventory.
• To compare personality profiles of individuals with voice disorders against a non-dysphonic control group.

Main Methods:

• Compared 100 patients with voice disorders (24 pathologies) to 149 non-dysphonic individuals.
• Utilized the NEO-FFI personality inventory to assess five personality scales.
• Employed categorical and continuous approaches to analyze differences across various pathologies.

Main Results:

• Openness was the only personality trait showing a statistically significant difference between dysphonic and non-dysphonic groups (P < 0.001).
• Individuals with structural pathologies exhibited lower Openness scores compared to controls (P < 0.001).
• Pathologies characterized by high organicity were also associated with lower Openness scores (P < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Openness consistently differentiated individuals with and without voice disorders, and among specific pathologies.
• Analyzing a spectrum of voice pathologies provides a novel perspective on the voice disorder-personality association.
• Findings suggest personality, particularly Openness, plays a role in the complex etiology of voice disorders.