Personality traits and vocal nodules

Antoine Giovanni

Objective
To assess behavioral and psychological traits in patients with vocal nodules

Design
Prospective study

Methods
Psychometric assessment was performed using validated scales such as MINI (for assessment of psychiatric disturbances), Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and an axiety scale STAI-Y
Inclusion criteria were female patients referred for vocal nodules between 15 and 50 years-old. 39 patients were analyzed.

Results
Our result show that patients with vocal nodules, compared with the global population exhibits no statistical difference concerning association with a psychiatric disturbance. The temperament and character inventory showed higher scores than control population for Novelty Seeking and lower scores for the dimension Harm Avoidance. No difference was found about the anxiety level

Discussion
The goal of this study was to determine if patients with vocal nodules presented personality traits similar to the typology described by Roy and Bless, in particular with regard to the higher rate of extraversion. Our results are fully consistent with this hypothesis.

Antoine Giovanni MD, PhD (Laboratoire d’Audio-Phonologie Expérimentale et Clinique –Marseille, France)
David Magalon, MD (Marseille, France)
Estelle Aumelas, Speech Therapist (Laboratoire d’Audio-Phonologie Expérimentale et Clinique –Marseille, France)

Corresponding author:
Antoine Giovanni
Federation ORL CHU Timone
13385 Marseille cedex 5 France
Tel +33 4 91 38 60 69 Fax +33 4 91 38 74 54