Semantic categorisation and verbal fluency performance in a community population in Hong Kong: A preliminary report

Abstract

Objective: Category fluency tests are important cognitive and clinical neuropsychological assessments. The lack of Chinese norms suggests the need for well-validated normative data for Hong Kong Chinese people. Patients and Methods: This study aimed to provide preliminary normative data for healthy Hong Kong Chinese adults, aged from 16 to 65 years, for 4 commonly used measures of category fluency - 'animal', 'means of transport', 'food', and 'furniture'. 100 healthy people (42 men and 58 women) were recruited in the community. Results: The mean age and educational level of the group was 32 years (standard deviation, 11.76 years) and 11.31 years (standard deviation, 3.64 years), respectively. The findings indicate that the categories of food and animal had the highest mean number of citations (21.52 ±7.14 for food and 20.07 ± 5.84 for animal), whereas the categories of furniture and means of transport had the lowest mean score (14.24 ± 4.79 for furniture and 15 ± 3.86 for means of transport). Conclusion: The implication of applying these preliminary norms in Hong Kong Chinese and psychiatry research is discussed. These findings may give clinicians an alternative to screen and assess such groups in their communities.