A Preliminary Investigation of the Vocal Behaviors and Characteristics of Female Pastors

Female pastors are considered “heavy occupational voice usersâ€‌ and are at risk for developing vocal lesions, dysphonia, and/or vocal fatigue. However, there is no published information pertaining to the vocal characteristics of this group. Six participants completed a 31-item questionnaire that addressed health and lifestyle as well as self-perception of vocal characteristics and audio-recorded a complete sermon during a typical worship service. Subsequently, a 2-minute sample of each sermon was recorded on a compact disc (CD) for assessment by seven experienced listeners. In addition to obtaining ratings from the recorded sermons, the questionnaires were analyzed to examine specific vocal habits and the female pastorʹs perceptions of her own voice, specifically in terms of vocally abusive behaviors. Because of the limited sample size and variability in the demographic characteristics of the participants, descriptive analysis was used to describe the pastorsʹ perceptions and identified vocal habits, as well as the vocal behaviors and characteristics identified by the listeners. Data from the questionnaires and the recordings indicate that most female clergy members engage in potentially abusive vocal behaviors while preaching and report that they engage in additional abusive behaviors outside of church services. However, most female pastors do not believe that they are abusing or misusing their voices. These findings suggest that female pastors are in need of relevant information provided by professionals so that voice problems can be eliminated or prevented.