Effect of education and social anxiety on acoustic, perceptual and aerodynamic parameters of adult females

Abstract

In this study, we hypothesized that social anxiety disorder would be more common in women with lower education levels and that this could have a negative effect on acoustic parameters. A total of eighty-eight (88) healthy female volunteers were enrolled into the study. These volunteers were divided into two groups, which were categorized as those with graduation from elementary school or below (Group A, n = 42) and those with graduation from high school or above (Group B, n = 46). Personal anxiety and avoidance for all participants were evaluated using The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale. All subjects also underwent acoustic and aerodynamic voice analysis for evaluation of their objective voice quality and function. Additionally, the GRBAS scale was used for perceptual analysis. Social anxiety scores were higher in group A than group B (p < 0.05). In aerodynamic sound analysis, maximal phonation time was lower in group A than group B (p < 0.05). In perceptual sound analysis, the mean values of the GRBAS parameters for group B were lower than group A (p < 0.05). Mean F0 of Group-B was higher than Group-A in acoustic analysis (p < 0.05). However, there was no statistical difference in jitter, shimmer, NHR and HNR between the groups (p > 0.05). In this study, social anxiety and education has been shown to have an effect on voice in women. As the level of education increases, social anxiety decreases, and both maximum phonation time and fundamental frequency increase.