Psychosocial factors long have been associated with the development of hyperfunctional voice disorders such as vocal nodules. However, experimental evidence concerning the role of these factors in the etiology of vocal nodules specifically is sparse. The present study represents a preliminary examination of some psychosocial factors for 3 groups of adult female subjects: 27 with vocal nodules, 17 with hyperfunctionally related voice disorders other than nodules (pathological control), and 33 with no history of voice disorders (normal control). Four psychosocial factors were studied: stress (measured by the Social Readjustment Rating Questionnaire), anxiety (measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), voice use, and somatic complaints (both measured by our own instruments). Relative to the normal control group, the patients with nodules showed significantly increased scores on all factors except stress. The pathological control group showed significantly increased scores on all factors except voice use. No significant differences were found between the group with nodules and the pathological control group on any factor. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for clinical practice and future research.

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