The Reliability and Validity of the Mandarin Chinese Version of the Vocal Fatigue Index: Preliminary Validation

Roger W. Chan, Feng Chuan Lin, Yung Hsi Lee, Chia En Liao, Jung Hsuan Jen, Chia Hsin Wu, Chi Te Wang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose: This study attempted to develop and to preliminarily validate the Mandarin Chinese version of the Vocal Fatigue Index (VFI) as a standardized selfassessment questionnaire tool for potential clinical applications. Method: The experimental procedure involved (a) cross-cultural adaptation of the VFI into the Mandarin Chinese version (CVFI), (b) evaluation by an expert panel, (c) back translation, (d) pilot testing, and (e) validation of the questionnaire by three participant groups: 50 with voice disorders, 50 occupational voice users (at-risk group), and 50 with normal voice (control group). Internal consistency, test–retest reliability, content validity, and convergent validity of the CVFI were examined, and discriminatory ability (diagnostic accuracy) for distinguishing between the groups was evaluated. Results: Results showed high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha ≥.8817 for the total CVFI scores for all groups), high test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients ≥.9072, p <.001 for the total CVFI scores for all groups), high content validity (total content validity index = 0.9368), and high convergent validity (Pearson r ≥.8155, p <.001 between the total CVFI scores and Factors 1 and 2 scores). Significant differences between the three groups were found in all scores. Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed a high diagnostic accuracy for distinguishing between the disorders group and the normal group (area under the curve ≥ 0.927, p <.001 for the total CVFI scores and Factors 1 and 2 scores), with cutoff scores of ≥ 36 (total CVFI score), ≥ 23.5 (Factor 1 score), ≥ 7.5 (Factor 2 score), and ≤ 6.5 (Factor 3 score). Conclusions: These findings suggested that the CVFI could be a reliable and valid self-assessment tool for the clinical evaluation of vocal fatigue in Mandarin Chinese–speaking populations. A full-scale validation study of the CVFI is recommended to verify these results.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2846-2859
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
Volume65
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2022
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Language and Linguistics
  • Linguistics and Language
  • Speech and Hearing

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