Organizing the voice questionnaire for transgender persons

Charlotte Bultynck; Charlotte Pas; Justine Defreyne; Marjan Cosyns; Guy T'Sjoen

doi:10.1080/15532739.2019.1605555

Organizing the voice questionnaire for transgender persons

Int J Transgend Health. 2019 May 8;21(1):89-97. doi: 10.1080/15532739.2019.1605555. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Charlotte Bultynck¹, Charlotte Pas², Justine Defreyne³, Marjan Cosyns⁴, Guy T'Sjoen³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Ghent University Hospital, Gent, Belgium.
² Ghent University, Gent, Belgium.
³ Department of Endocrinology & Centre for Sexology and Gender, Ghent University Hospital, Belgium.
⁴ Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium.

Abstract

Background: The validated Transsexual Voice Questionnaire Male to Female (TVQ^MtF) and the adapted TVQ Female to Male (FtM) (TVQ^FtM) are both 30-item-long questionnaires used to evaluate self-perception of voice in transgender persons. They are part of a series of questionnaires completed by transgender persons during follow-up of cross-sex hormone therapy (CSHT). Aim: The aim of this study was to examine if these questionnaires can be organized. Methods: The TVQ^MtF or the TVQ^FtM was filled out at the start of CSHT, by 145 trans women and 83 trans men. Data were analyzed by factor analyses on both the questionnaires. Results: The factor analyses resulted in a three-factor solution for both the TVQ^MtF and the TVQ^FtM. The three factors were labeled as anxiety and avoidance, vocal identity, and vocal function. Conclusion: Both the questionnaires can be organized into three factors. This could contribute to making shorter versions of the questionnaires. Shorter versions would be useful to hormone prescribing physicians to track down more quickly voice problems in trans people undergoing virilizing or feminizing hormone treatment.

Keywords: ENIGI; questionnaire; self-perception; transgender; voice.