Performance of 7- to 95-year-old individuals in a Chinese version of the category fluency test.

A version of the category fluency test including the categories of animal and transportation, was administered to 316 Chinese native speakers ranging in age from 7 to 95. Results indicated that the number of items generated in the category fluency test increases with age from childhood to adulthood with a peak performance in adults aged from 19 to 30, and then declines subsequently into late life. All participants, regardless of their age, generated more animal than transportation names. Educational level, but not gender, was a significant factor affecting their performance. The participants in all age groups committed very few intrusion and perseveration errors. The results of the present study were in general consistent with those reported in the western countries. Thus, it seems to be appropriate to apply the category fluency test, which was originally developed in western countries, for clinical use in Hong Kong.