Verbal fluency in Lebanese children: Preliminary normative data, sociodemographic determinants, and patterns of clustering and switching

Abstract

This study assessed the quantitative and qualitative performance of Lebanese-speaking children on verbal fluency (VF) tasks and investigated the effects of sociodemographic characteristics. This study included 219 Lebanese children aged between 5 and 12 years and 11 months, whose native language is Lebanese-Arabic. Semantic and letter VF tasks were assessed using a range of categories and letters. Switching and clustering strategies were analyzed for 177 Lebanese children. The number of words produced presented a significant increase with age (p < .004) in semantic (SVF), while in letter (LVF), the differences were significant between extreme age groups. Females generated more words in the clothes (p = .003) and household items (p = .002) categories. The total number of switches and clusters showed a significantly increasing pattern with age (p < .05). The number of switches was higher for participants with high maternal (p < .001) and paternal (p < .013) educational levels. Regression analyses showed that the total number of switches and clusters, and the mean cluster size had a significant effect on SVF performance (p < .001). The current study generated preliminary norms for VF tasks for Lebanese-speaking children. The results of the current study have an important contribution to neuropsychology research and clinical practice.

Keywords:

• Arabic
• clustering
• Lebanese
• switching
• verbal fluency

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the children and their families who participated in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).