Verbal fluency tests: Normative data for Spanish-speaking pediatric population.

Area of Science:

• Neuropsychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

• Verbal fluency tests (VFT) assess cognitive functions like executive function and language processing.
• Normative data are crucial for accurate interpretation of VFT performance in pediatric populations.
• Existing normative data for Spanish-speaking children are limited, especially across multiple countries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish normative data for phonological and semantic verbal fluency tests (VFT) in Spanish-speaking children.
• To provide a standardized reference for neuropsychological assessments in diverse Latin American and Spanish pediatric populations.

Main Methods:

• Collected data from 4,373 healthy children across nine Latin American countries and Spain.
• Administered phonological (letters F, A, S) and semantic (animals, fruits) VFT as part of a larger neuropsychological battery.
• Utilized multiple linear regressions with age, age², sex, and mean level of parental education (MLPE) as predictors.

Main Results:

• Age demonstrated a significant linear effect on all VFT scores, with performance increasing with age.
• Age², MLPE, and sex showed significant effects on various phonological and semantic VFT scores across different countries.
• Specific country-based variations in the influence of age², MLPE, and sex were observed for different VFT tasks.

Conclusions:

• This study represents the largest multi-national normative VFT study for Spanish-speaking pediatric populations globally.
• The generated normative data will enhance the accuracy of VFT interpretation by neuropsychologists in participating countries.
• Provides essential reference data for evaluating cognitive and language skills in Spanish-speaking children.