Personality traits and psychological factors in voice pathology: A foundation for future research

It has been argued that personality, emotions, and psychological problems c ontribute to or are primary causes of voice disorders and that voice disord ers in turn create psychological problems and personality effects. This art icle (a) briefly reviews the literature surrounding the role of psychologic al and personality processes in individuals with functional dysphonia (FD), vocal nodules (VN), and spasmodic dysphonia (SD); (b) provides an overview of recent concepts in personality and trait structure; and (c) summarizes the fundamental tenets of a theoretical synthesis proposed by Roy and Bless (2000) to explain the dispositional bases of FD and VN. This theory links FD and VN to the signal sensitivities and behavioral response biases of neu rotic introverts and neurotic extraverts, respectively In a companion artic le, the merits of the Roy and Bless theory are evaluated.