Abstract
To verify the relation between the self-reported shyness and perceived vocal handicap in teachers from Early childhood and Primary education (elementary and middle school). 200 teachers (mean age 41.8 years old) without vocal complaint answered to personal identification protocol, work characterization information, the Vocal Handcap Index and the Shyness Scale. From the total sample, 142 (71%) teachers had no vocal disadvantage, 42% (n = 59) were shy and 58% (n = 83) were non-shy. Among the 58 (29%) teachers with vocal disadvantage, most of them were shy (64%) instead of non-shy (26%). Considering the shy teachers, most of them worked in Early Childhood Education, were aged between 20-30 years old, had from 1 to 10 years of teaching experience and were working in a noisy classroom. The presence of upper airway affections was more frequent in shy teachers without vocal disadvantage and this was the only aspect that differentiated shy and non-shy teachers. Shy teachers showed higher frequency of vocal disadvantage when compared to non-shy teachers. Teachers between 20 and 30 years old, with up to 10 years of teaching experience and who teach in Early Childhood Education reported shyness, but there was no relation with vocal disadvantage.
Highlights
Teacher represent 1.65% of the workers in Brazil, and, as observed in other countries, this profession has high risk of developing vocal disorders[1]
Little is known about this population intrinsic factors, such as, personality traits, psychosocial aspects and coping strategies related to vocal performance[2,3]
The aim of the present study was to verify the relation between the selfreported shyness and vocal handicap perceived in teachers of Early childhood and Primary education
Summary
Teacher represent 1.65% of the workers in Brazil, and, as observed in other countries, this profession has high risk of developing vocal disorders[1]. Extrinsic factors such as, teaching for long period of time, noisy classroom situation and excessive numbers of students per classroom are aspects commonly described to favor vocal loading. Little is known about this population intrinsic factors, such as, personality traits, psychosocial aspects and coping strategies related to vocal performance[2,3]. The earliest studies related to voice and personality disorders are quite old; recently, the interest in this field has increased and recent studies present higher methodological complexity. Individuals with vocal nodules are usually extroverted, impulsive and seem to be more communicative[6]
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