title: Transcultural Adaptation and Validation of the German Version of the Vocal Tract Discomfort Scale.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Currently, there is no standardized German questionnaire to assess vocal tract discomfort in voice patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the internal consistency, reliability, and validity of the German version of the Vocal Tract Discomfort (VTD) Scale.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  First, a cross-cultural translation and adaptation from English to German was performed. One hundred seven patients between the ages of 18 and 76 with voice disorders were divided into two different diagnosis-related groups (organic and functional voice disorder) and 50 vocally healthy adults were included. All participants completed the VTD Scale and the Voice Handicap Index (VHI). The internal consistency of the VTD Scale was analyzed through Cronbach's α coefficient. Pearson correlation between the VDT Scale and VHI total scores was used to determine criterion validity. The VDT Scale score differences related to diagnosis groups were assessed with analysis of variance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Excellent internal consistency was found (α = 0.919, P < 0.05), and criterion validity was confirmed by a high correlation between the total VTD Scale and VHI (r = 0.674). There was a significant difference between the diagnosis groups' total VTD Scale score (F[4.135] = 15.114, P = 0.000). Furthermore, the vocally healthy adults had significantly lower values than the two diagnosis groups (x¯: 11.48, s = 8.340).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The German version of the VTD Scale has an excellent internal consistency and reliability, and shows high clinical validity. Thus, it is a useful instrument in voice diagnostics.
authors: Almsstraße 15, 31134 Hildesheim, Germany. Electronic address: j.lukaschyk@googlemail.com.
authors: Julia
authors: J
authors: Lukaschyk
authors: Speech Pathology Section, Department of Phoniatrics and Speech Pathology, Clinic for Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland.
authors: Meike
authors: M
authors: Brockmann-Bauser
authors: Department of Social Work and Health, University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen, Germany.
authors: Ulla
authors: U
authors: Beushausen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014827:Vocal Cords / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014832:Voice Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D014833:Voice Quality; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Vocal Tract Discomfort Scale; adaptation; reliability; translation; validity