Exploring the validity of the Transsexual Voice Questionnaire (male-to-female): Do TVQ^MtF scores differentiate between MtF women who have had gender reassignment surgery and those who have not?

ABSTRACT

The recently developed Transsexual Voice Questionnaire (TVQ^MtF) is a self-report tool that assesses the perceptions of male-to-female transsexual women (MtF women) regarding their voices and the impact of voice on their everyday lives. Initial psychometric evaluation has demonstrated strong reliability of the TVQ^MtF, however, there has been relatively little investigation of its validity. There is evidence in the literature to support the notion that MtF women who have undergone gender reassignment surgery (GRS) have different perceptions of their voice than MtF women who have not undergone GRS. This information was used to examine the validity of the TVQ^MtF using a known-groups analysis. Method: The TVQ^MtF scores of 26 MtF women who had undergone GRS were compared with the scores of 27 MtF women who had not undergone GRS. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the total TVQ^MtF scores. Mann Whitney U tests were used for comparison across individual items. Results: Individuals who had undergone GRS perceived that they experienced fewer voice-related difficulties and impacts on their lives than individuals who had not undergone GRS. This difference was significant (F(1, 51) = 8.87, p = .004). MtF women who had undergone GRS reported less impact of voice on their gender identity, however, perceived impact of vocal-functioning and voice-related activity and participation limitations did not differ between groups. The study findings support the construct validity of the TVQ^MtF.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender reassignment surgery
• male-to-female
• transsexual
• Transsexual Voice Questionnaire
• validity
• voice

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the participants for their contribution to this research. Thanks also to Dr. R. Jones, Dr. F. Harte, and Dr. J. Erasmus for assistance with recruitment and the Monash Gender Dysphoria Clinic for their ongoing support. The Transsexual Voice Questionnaire (TVQ^MtF) is freely available for clinical and research purposes from either the first author or at www.shelaghdavies.com.