The Relationship Between Auditory-Perceptual Rating Scales and Objective Voice Measures in Children With Voice Disorders

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine concurrent validity of the Grade, Roughness, Breathiness, Asthenia, and Strain (GRBAS) and Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice (CAPE-V) auditory-perceptual scales in children with voice disorders. A secondary purpose was to determine correlation between the GRBAS, CAPE-V, and objective voice measures. Method GRBAS and CAPE-V ratings and acoustic and aerodynamic measures were collected from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Voice and Swallow Outcomes Database. Correlations between CAPE-V and GRBAS ratings were calculated for overall severity of dysphonia, roughness, breathiness, and strain. Correlations between auditory-perceptual voice ratings and objective voice measures were also examined. Results One hundred thirty GRBAS and CAPE-V auditory-perceptual ratings were significantly correlated for overall severity, roughness, breathiness, and strain. <i>r</i> ² values were highest for overall severity of dysphonia (<i>r</i> ² = .75) and lowest for strain (<i>r</i> ² = .54). CAPE-V and GRBAS ratings were largely associated with similar acoustic and aerodynamic measures. The highest correlations were observed for auditory-perceptual ratings of breathiness and jitter% (CAPE-V <i>r</i> ² = .44, GRBAS <i>r</i> ² = .44), shimmer% (CAPE-V <i>r</i> ² = .45, GRBAS <i>r</i> ² = .45), noise-to-harmonic ratio (CAPE-V <i>r</i> ² = .42, GRBAS <i>r</i> ² = .40), fundamental frequency (CAPE-V <i>r</i> ² = .47, GRBAS <i>r</i> ² = .44), and maximum phonation time (CAPE-V <i>r</i> ² = .56, GRBAS <i>r</i> ² = .51). Akaike information criterion values indicated that CAPE-V ratings were more strongly correlated with objective voice measures than GRBAS ratings. Conclusions CAPE-V and GRBAS scales have concurrent validity in children with voice disorders. CAPE-V ratings are more strongly correlated with acoustic and aerodynamic voice measures.