Poster Session 05 Program Schedule
02/15/2024
02:30 pm - 03:45 pm
Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120)
Poster Session 05: Neuropsychiatry | Addiction/Dependence | Stress/Coping | Emotional/Social Processes
Final Abstract #74
Internalizing Symptoms as a Predictor of Verbal Fluency Performance in a Clinical Sample
Penita Miller, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, United States
Christopher Reed, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, United States
Matthew Calamia, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, United States
Category: Executive Functions/Frontal Lobes
Keyword 1: executive functions
Keyword 2: mood disorders
Objective:
Research on the relationship between executive functioning and psychopathology has shown that verbal fluency measures, especially semantic fluency, have among the largest effect size differences from some disorders (e.g., depression). It has been hypothesized that differences are larger for semantic fluency because of the heavier shifting demands (i.e., between subcategories of a larger semantic category). Research has typically focused on a categorical approach focusing on a single diagnosis rather than examining multiple correlated, yet distinct symptom dimensions in the same study. The current study extends the literature by examining relationships of verbal fluency, including using a more demanding switching measure, with multiple dimensions of internalizing symptoms.
Participants and Methods:
216 adults (mean age = 23.7 (SD = 7.8); 45% female) evaluated at a university clinic completed the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Verbal Fluency (VF) subtest which measures phonemic and semantic fluency and also includes a separate condition requiring switching between two semantic categories. Participants also completed the Expanded Version of the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms (IDAS-II) which measures different mood and anxiety disorder symptoms. The IDAS-II subscales load onto three factors assessing general distress, obsessions/fear, and positive mood. Relationships between internalizing symptoms and verbal fluency were examined using multiple linear regressions with the IDAS-II factors and demographic variables (i.e., age and sex) as predictors of D-KEFS VF scores.
Results:
No IDAS-II factor uniquely predicted phonemic fluency or semantic fluency (p > 0.05). Although greater obsessions/fears was weakly correlated with semantic fluency (r = -.14, p <0.05) in the multiple regression with all factors included, the overall model was not significant. In the multiple regression predicting category switching accuracy, greater obsessions/fears (beta = -0.21, p <0.05) was related to worse category switching (F(5,210) = 3.5, p < 0.01).
Conclusions:
These results are consistent with past work showing a relationship between worse category fluency and greater OCD symptom severity in those diagnosed with OCD. These findings extend past work on the relationship of internalizing symptoms with verbal fluency in showing that greater symptoms of OCD are uniquely related to semantic switching in comparison to other dimensions of internalizing symptoms. The more robust results for semantic switching are consistent with prior work on the role of switching in the relationship between psychopathology and verbal fluency.
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