Edwards, C. J. et al. (2023) The voice characterisation checklist: psychometric properties of a brief clinical assessment of voices as social agents. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, 1192655. (doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1192655) (PMID:37559917) (PMCID:PMC10408443)
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Abstract
Aim: There is growing interest in tailoring psychological interventions for distressing voices and a need for reliable tools to assess phenomenological features which might influence treatment response. This study examines the reliability and internal consistency of the Voice Characterisation Checklist (VoCC), a novel 10-item tool which assesses degree of voice characterisation, identified as relevant to a new wave of relational approaches. Methods: The sample comprised participants experiencing distressing voices, recruited at baseline on the AVATAR2 trial between January 2021 and July 2022 (n = 170). Inter-rater reliability (IRR) and internal consistency analyses (Cronbach’s alpha) were conducted. Results: The majority of participants reported some degree of voice personification (94%) with high endorsement of voices as distinct auditory experiences (87%) with basic attributes of gender and age (82%). While most identified a voice intention (75%) and personality (76%), attribution of mental states (35%) to the voice (‘What are they thinking?’) and a known historical relationship (36%) were less common. The internal consistency of the VoCC was acceptable (10 items, α = 0.71). IRR analysis indicated acceptable to excellent reliability at the item-level for 9/10 items and moderate agreement between raters’ global (binary) classification of more vs. less highly characterised voices, κ = 0.549 (95% CI, 0.240–0.859), p < 0.05. Conclusion: The VoCC is a reliable and internally consistent tool for assessing voice characterisation and will be used to test whether voice characterisation moderates treatment outcome to AVATAR therapy. There is potential wider utility within clinical trials of other relational therapies as well as routine clinical practise.
| Item Type: | Articles |
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| Additional Information: | Funding This study is funded by The Wellcome Trust Ltd., through an Innovations Project award (grant reference [215471/Z/19/Z]). The funding body has no role in the design of the study or the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data or the writing of the manuscript. The work was also part funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London (PG and RE). RE is supported by an NIHR Research Professorship (NIHR300051). MR-C acknowledges individual funding from the Sofja Kovalevskaja Award (Alexander von Humbold Foundation and Ministry of Education and Research, Germany). GH acknowledges individual funding from an NIHR Senior Investigator Award (NIHR201393). SB is supported by an NIHR Research Professorship (NIHR300794) and is Director and shareholder of CareLoop Health Ltd., a spin out from the University of Manchester to develop and market digital solutions for remote monitoring using smartphones for mental health conditions, currently schizophrenia and postnatal depression. SB also reports research funding from The Wellcome Trust. |
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Clancy, Dr Moya and McLeod, Professor Hamish |
| Authors: | Edwards, C. J., Owrid, O., Miller, L., Jafari, H., Emsley, R., Rus-Calafell, M., Craig, T. K. J., Clancy, M., McLeod, H., Fornells-Ambrojo, M., McDonnell, J., Montague, A., Huckvale, M., Bucci, S., Haddock, G., Garety, P., and Ward, T. |
| College/School: | College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Mental Health and Wellbeing |
| Journal Name: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| Publisher: | Frontiers Media |
| ISSN: | 1664-0640 |
| ISSN (Online): | 1664-0640 |
| Published Online: | 21 July 2023 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2023 Edwards, Owrid, Miller, Jafari, Emsley, Rus-Calafell, Craig, Clancy, McLeod, FornellsAmbrojo, McDonnell, Montague, Huckvale, Bucci, Haddock, Garety and Ward |
| First Published: | First published in Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons license |
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