Clustering and Switching on verbal fluency tests in elementary school children with and without learning difficulties

Teixeira, Diego Siqueira de Lima; Carthery-Goulart, Maria Teresa; Lukasova, Katerina

doi:10.1590/2317-1782/20232022003en

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Original Article • CoDAS 35 (6) • 2023 • https://doi.org/10.1590/2317-1782/20232022003en copy

Clustering and Switching on verbal fluency tests in elementary school children with and without learning difficulties

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT

Purpose

Evaluate the performance in the Semantic and Phonemic Verbal Fluency tests in relation to the cognitive components of clustering and switching and explore the changes in development in elementary school.

Methods

Participants were 68 children from the 2nd to 5th grade of elementary school of a public school in the municipality of Santo André, divided into two groups, Learning Difficulty (LD) and Typical Development (TD).

Results

The Verbal Fluency tests were compared for the number of clusters, mean size of the clusters, and number of switches. All variables compared showed a statistically significant higher score for Semantic Verbal Fluency. Means and standard deviations of the same variables for year and group effect were realized in both Verbal Fluency tests. A statistically significant difference was observed only for the total number of clusters in the Semantic Verbal Fluency test for group effect, with the best performance of the TD group. A high correlation was observed between the total number of correct answers with the total number of clusters and number of switches in both Verbal Fluency tests. In addition, a correlation was observed between the total number of correct answers and the mean size of the clusters only in the Phonemic Verbal Fluency. Linear regression analysis showed greater variance for the total number of clusters, making it more predictable for performance in both verbal fluency tests.

Conclusion

Verbal Fluency tests may be sensitive and predictive for the identification of possible differences in school performance associated with reading.

Keywords:
Task Performance and Analysis; Underachievement; Academic Performance; Education Primary and Secondary; Neuropsychological Tests

YEAR	LITERACY				TOTAL (F/M)
YEAR	LD (F/M)		TD (F/M)		TOTAL (F/M)
2 and 3	14	(5/9)	23	(15/8)	37	(20/17)
4 and 5	10	(5/5)	21	(9/12)	31	(14/17)
Total	24	(10/14)	44	(24/20)	68	(34/34)

	DT		DA
	2^nd and 3^rd	4^th and 5^th	2^nd and 3^th	4^th and 5^th
	(n = 23)	(n = 21)	(n = 14)	(n = 10)
SVF
Total correct answers	17,0 (4,2)	17,0 (4,2)	17,0 (4,2)	17,0 (4,2)
Nº Clusters	4,9 (2,0)	4,9 (2,0)	4,9 (2,0)	4,9 (2,0)
MS Clusters	1,9 (0,6)	1,9 (0,6)	1,9 (0,6)	1,9 (0,6)
Nº Switches	7,8 (2,6)	7,8 (2,6)	7,8 (2,6)	7,8 (2,6)
PVF
Total correct answers	7,6 (3,5)	7,6 (3,5)	7,6 (3,5)	7,6 (3,5)
Nº Clusters	1,7 (1,3)	1,7 (1,3)	1,7 (1,3)	1,7 (1,3)
MS Clusters	1,2 (0,8)	1,2 (0,8)	1,2 (0,8)	1,2 (0,8)
Nº Switches	4,9 (2,3)	4,9 (2,3)	4,9 (2,3)	4,9 (2,3)

		T. Correct Answers	MS Clus	Nº Swit
PVF	Nº Clus	0.81^* ***** p≤0.001	0.61***	0.33^ p≤0.01
	MS Clus	0.61***	-	NS
	Nº Swit	0.63***	-	-
SVF	Nº Clus	0.69***	0.30**	0.51***
	MS Clus	NS	-	-0.33**
	Nº Swit	0.75***	-	-

Variables	Β	ANOVA for the model	R²	Adjusted R²
SVF
Model 1
Total number of Clusters	0.77^* * p = <.001	F (1.66) = 96.292*	0.61	0.62
Model 2
Total number of Clusters	0.53*	F (2.65) = 97.742*	0.59	0.58
Number of Switches	0.46*	F (2.65) = 97.742*	0.59	0.58
Model 3
Total number of Clusters	0.59*	F (3.64) = 110.840*	0.75	0.74
Number of Switches	0.55*
Mean size of Clusters	0.33*
PVF
Model 1
Total number of Clusters	0.78*	F (1.66) = 106.953*	0.62	0.61
Model 2
Total number of Clusters	0.65*	F (2.65) = 119.397*	0.79	0.78
Number of Switches	0.43*	F (2.65) = 119.397*	0.79	0.78
Model 3
Total number of Clusters	0.53*	F (3.64) = 163.703*	0.89	0.88
Number of Switches	0.47*
Mean size of Clusters	0.34*

Variables	Β	ANOVA for the model	R²
SVF
Model 1
Total number of Clusters	0.77^* * p = <.001	F (1.66) = 96.3*	0.59
Model 2
Number of Switches	0.74*	F (1.66) = 78.2*	0.54
Model 3
Mean size of Clusters	-0.08	F (1.66) = 0.40	0.01
PVF
Model 1
Total number of Clusters	0.79*	F (1.66) = 107*	0.62
Model 2
Number of Switches	0.63*	F (1.66) = 43.9*	0.40
Model 3
Mean size of Clusters	0.50*	F (1.66) = 22.3*	0.25

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[1] Conflict of interests: nothing to declare.