Acoustic and Perceptual Outcomes of Vocal Training for Transgender Women

Abstract

This study investigated the acoustic and perceptual outcomes of a specific six-week voice training protocol for transgender women, by analyzing acoustic features of speech and voice. The authors sought to establish statistical and clinical significance between speaking fundamental frequency and self-perceptual ratings of communicative experiences, pre-and post-training. Methods: Speech samples were collected from 10 transgender women. Acoustic variables analyzed for this research include: fundamental frequency (F0) of vowel prolongation, speaking fundamental frequency (SFF) of spontaneous speech, formants (F1 and F2), pitch perturbation quotient (PPQ), relative average perturbation (RAP), noise-to-harmonic ratio (NHR), and intensity. Participants also completed a selfevaluation of communicative experiences using a five-point scale from the Transsexual Voice Questionnaire, Male-to-Female (TVQMtF). Speech samples were collected pre-and post-training to establish statistical and clinical significance. Results: Statistically and clinically significant gains were found between pre-and post-training in the areas of F0 in vowel prolongation, and SFF during spontaneous speech. There were generally medium effect sizes for F1 and F2, PPQ, RAP, NHR, and intensity. These analyses were limited by sample size. Results suggest that F0 of vowel prolongation, SFF, SFF variation, formant modification, and intensity are suitable targets for evidence-based practices for transgender women. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank everyone who provided support and guidance to complete this thesis. All mistakes are mine alone. I would first like to thank my advisor and academic supervisor Dr. Leslie Mahler. Her patience, thoughtfulness, and confidence in my abilities helped me to persevere throughout this process. Thank you to Kimberly Dahl, your hard work has provided an opportunity for which I will be eternally grateful. Thank you to Madison Turner, for all of her hard work and patience, I hope this experience was of value. Thanks are due to my thesis committee, from whom I have learned to better myself personally and professionally. I would also like to thank my husband, whose unwavering patience and support has allowed me to change careers, and work toward my personal and professional goals. Lastly, I am most thankful of all of the participants who found time to take part in this research. The opportunity to meet these individuals is something I will cherish the most from this experience.