Chilean's Self-Perception of Their Self-Regulatory Behaviors and Vocal Symptoms

Objective. To compare vocal symptoms and self-regulatory behaviors between Chileans having behavioral dysphonia and those who were vocally healthy; and to correlate their vocal symptoms and self-regulatory behaviors. Material and methods. The 100 Chileans who participated in this study were divided into the dysphonic group (DG) having behavioral dysphonia and the vocally healthy group (VHG). The DG and VHG each had 50 participants (32 females and 18 males), whose mean ages were 28.3 and 28.6 years, respectively. The participants responded to the Chilean Spanish versions of the Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SSRQ-Ch) and Voice Symptom Scale (VoiSS) instruments. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results. The VHG Chileans had significantly lower scores in the VoiSS domains and significantly higher scores in the total and impulse control domains of SSRQ-Ch as compared to the DG Chileans. There was a negative correlation between all VoiSS domains as well as the total and impulse control domains of SSRQ-Ch. Conclusion. The DG Chileans had more vocal symptoms and less self-regulation of general behavior and impulse control than the VHG Chileans. There was an inverse relationship between the frequency of vocal symptoms and the self-regulated general and impulse control behaviors.