VERBAL FLUENCY TASK EQUIVALENCE

The research and clinical use of the verbal fluency paradigm has been hindered by the paucity of information on the equivalency of the vario us versions of this measure. Currently, the comparability of the two m ost commonly used forms of the letter fluency task, the ''FAS'' and '' CFL'' tests, is uncertain. The equivalence of these versions was inves tigated by examining their consistency across and within settings and disease processes. The two verbal fluency tasks were administered to 2 87 patients at two separate sites as part of a neuropsychological eval uation. Results showed that the CFL and FAS verbal fluency paradigms w ere equivalent across both settings and diagnostic groups with correla tions ranging from .87 to .94. These findings may be useful for both r esearchers and clinicians who require equivalent measures for repeated testing. Furthermore, the demonstrated equivalency of the two paradig ms may facilitate interpretation of research findings across laborator ies.