Relationship Between Shyness, Vocal Disadvantage, and Vocal Symptoms in University Students

OBJECTIVE: To identify, compare, and correlate the impact of self-reported shyness with vocal disadvantage and vocal symptoms in university students. METHODS: Observational, cross-sectional, and analytical study. The sample was convenience-based and consisted of Brazilian university students. Participants completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale (RCBS), the Voice Handicap Index 10 (VHI-10), and the Voice Symptom Scale (VoiSS). A cutoff score of 34 on the RCBS was used to differentiate non-shy (G1) and shy (G2) participants. Data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test for comparisons between participants and Spearman's correlation to evaluate the relationship between the protocols. The significance level adopted was 5% (P < 0.05). RESULTS: A total of 366 university students participated, with the majority being cisgender women (n = 251; 68.6%) and affiliated with public universities (n = 351; 95.9%). G2 presented significantly higher scores on the VHI-10 (mean = 11.43 ± 9.66; median = 9) compared to G1 (mean = 3.49 ± 5.66; median = 2) (P ≤ 0.001). In the VoiSS, significant differences between the groups were observed (P ≤ 0.001), with G1 obtaining the following mean scores for the domains: Limitation (6.86), Emotional (2.68), Physical (4.14), and Total Score (13.68), while G2 scored 18.86, 7.26, 6.68, and 32.80, respectively. CONCLUSION: University students identified as shy reported greater vocal disadvantage and self-reported vocal symptoms, exceeding the cutoff on the VHI-10 and VoiSS, unlike non-shy students. Significant positive correlations were found between self-perception of shyness and voice measures in G2, indicating that higher levels of shyness are associated with greater perception of vocal disadvantage and the impact of self-reported vocal symptoms.