Development and Validation of the Bilingual Catalan/Spanish Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable bilingual version of the Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice (CAPE-V) for the auditory-perceptual evaluation of voice in Catalan and Spanish speakers. Method: The development of this CAPE-V adaptation included Delphi methodology with 20 voice and speech experts reaching consensus on the optimal adapted terminology of the perceptual vocal attributes, considering also input from the original instrument authors. The adaptation and validation of vocal tasks followed a sequential validation procedure, with input from phoneticians and speech-language pathologists. Following pilot testing with a large sample of speech-language pathology students, a refined adapted version was empirically tested for validity and reliability. Concurrent validity was assessed by comparing the adapted CAPE-V with the reference Grade, Roughness, Breathiness, Asthenia, Strain scale. Construct validity was assessed through convergent and discriminant validity analysis. Intrarater and interrater reliability were assessed via intraclass correlation coefficient calculations. User experience was evaluated through a questionnaire. Scale properties were validated using a confusion matrix, and cutoff values were calculated to achieve the optimal balance between sensitivity and specificity. Results: Through a formalized consensus process, optimal Catalan/Spanish terminology was determined for the perceptual attributes of voice present in the CAPE-V. An adapted protocol of tasks was obtained that preserves the objectives of the original instrument and the relevance of the phonetic criteria in the target languages. The results demonstrated concurrent validity, construct validity, and intrarater reliability. Interrater reliability was found to depend on the extent to which evaluators shared their internal standards. The raters identified CAPE-V as an effective and preferred instrument. Conclusion: An adapted, validated version of the CAPE-V is made available to clinical professionals for the evaluation of voice in Catalan and Spanish speakers.