Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
https://trends.org.br/article/doi/10.1590/2237-6089-2016-0018
Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
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Phonemic verbal fluency and severity of anxiety disorders in young children

Fluência verbal fonêmica e gravidade dos transtornos de ansiedade em crianças pequenas

Rudineia Toazza; Giovanni Abrahão Salum; Rafaela Behs Jarros; Diogo DeSousa; Jerusa Fumagalli de Salles; Gisele Gus Manfro

http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2237-6089-2016-0018 Trends Psychiatry Psychother, vol.38, n2, p.100-104, 2016
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Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Previous studies have implicated impaired verbal fluency as being associated with anxiety disorders in adolescents. Objectives: To replicate and extend previously reported evidence by investigating whether performance in phonemic verbal fluency tasks is related to severity of anxiety symptoms in young children with anxiety disorders. We also aim to investigate whether putative associations are independent from co-occurring attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Methods: Sixty children (6-12 years old) with primary diagnoses of anxiety disorders participated in this study. Severity of symptoms was measured using clinician-based, parent-rated and self-rated validated scales. Verbal fluency was assessed using a simple task that measures the number of words evoked in 1-minute with the letter F, from which we quantified the number of isolated words, number of clusters (groups of similar words) and number of switches (transitions between clusters and/or between isolated words). Results: There was a significant association between the number of clusters and anxiety scores. Further analysis revealed associations were independent from co-occurring ADHD symptoms. Conclusion: We replicate and extend previous findings showing that verbal fluency is consistently associated with severity in anxiety disorders in children. Further studies should explore the potential effect of cognitive training on symptoms of anxiety disorders.

Keywords

Anxiety disorders, executive function, verbal fluency, language

Resumo

Resumo Introdução: Estudos prévios sugerem que déficits na fluência verbal estariam associados a transtornos de ansiedade em adolescentes. Objetivo: Replicar e estender os resultados prévios investigando se o desempenho em uma tarefa de fluência verbal fonêmica está relacionado com a gravidade dos sintomas de ansiedade em crianças com transtorno de ansiedade. Pretendemos, também, investigar se essa associação é independente da coocorrência de sintomas de déficit de atenção e hiperatividade (TDAH). Métodos: Participaram desse estudo 60 crianças (6-12 anos) com diagnóstico primário de transtorno de ansiedade. A gravidade dos sintomas foi medida utilizando escalas validadas baseadas para avaliação clínica, resposta dos pais ou responsáveis e resposta da criança. A fluência verbal foi avaliada utilizando uma tarefa simples que mede o número de palavras evocadas em 1 minuto com a letra F, a partir da qual foram quantificados o número de palavras isoladas, o número de clusters (agrupamentos de palavras semelhantes) e o número de switches (transições entre os agrupamentos e/ou entre palavras isoladas). Resultados: Encontramos uma associação significativa entre o número de clusters e os escores de ansiedade. Uma análise posterior revelou que essas associações foram independentes dos sintomas coocorrentes de TDAH. Conclusões: Replicamos e estendemos os resultados anteriores mostrando que a fluência verbal está consistentemente associada com a gravidade dos transtornos de ansiedade em crianças. Novos estudos são incentivados com o objetivo de investigar potenciais efeitos de treinamentos cognitivos sobre os sintomas ansiosos em indivíduos com transtornos de ansiedade.

Palavras-chave

Transtornos de ansiedade, funções executivas, fluência verbal, linguagem

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