Reliability and Validity of the Mandarin Version of Singing Voice Handicap Index - 10 (MSVHI-10)

Objectives: The present study aims to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Mandarin version of the Singing Voice Handicap Index-10 (MSVHI-10).

Methods: One hundred and fifteen singers, aged from 21 to 65, participated in this study. All the subjects completed the Mandarin version of the SVHI-10 and the Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10). Other gathered information include sex, age, type of singing performance, and the accumulated years of singing. We also asked the participants to self-report the presence of singing voice complaint. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate the validity, reliability, and the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve of MSVHI-10.

Results: The results showed high internal consistency (Cronbach's α =0.96), with the scores of each question ranged from 0.57 to 0.90. Forty-three singers re-filled the MSVHI-10 with an interval of 12.7 ± 9.3 days (mean ± standard deviation), and the results showed a high test-retest reliability (r = 0.98, P < 0.01). The SVHI-10 scores were significantly correlated with the VHI-10 (r = 0.54-0.72, P < 0.01). ROC analysis revealed a high differentiating accuracy for distinguishing between the subjects with or without singing voice complaints, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.97. At the cut-off score of 21.5, the sensitivity and specificity were 85.7% and 95.9%, respectively.

Conclusions: The Mandarin version of the SVHI-10 has been shown to be a reliable and valid instrument for evaluating the self-perception of singing voice complaints.