Vocal identity - differences and similarities between children from Croatia and Finland

The purpose of the present study was to find out if children between 8 and 10 years of age, from Croatia and Finland, are (i) able to identify appropriate voices from non-appropriate voices and (ii) are abusive in their voices. The third (iii) aim was to compare girls’ and boys’ vocal identity to each other. A structured questionnaire (BolfanStosic, 2000) was used to investigate the children’s voice habits. Results indicated that participant children did not differ with regard to country of origin. However differences appeared in relation to gender. The Croatian and Finnish girls (n=24) were better in identification of voice quality and vocal abuse compared to the Croatian and Finnish boys (n=16). It is suggested that future studies should continue to consider cultural environment in children’s identification and understanding of own voice status.