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Increased Working Memory Load in a Dual-Task Design Impairs Nonverbal Social Encoding in Children with High and Low Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms

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Abstract

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are known to have difficulty with peer relations, though the mechanisms by which these children struggle with interpersonal relationships are not well known. The current study examined the relation between working memory (WM) and the encoding of nonverbal social cues using a dual-task paradigm tested in children with High and Low ADHD symptoms. A total of 40 children were recruited (20 High ADHD; 20 Low ADHD) and completed computerized tasks of social encoding and WM in both single- and dual-task conditions. A series of repeated measures mixed-model ANOVAs revealed that both children with High ADHD and Low ADHD performed significantly worse during the dual-task condition compared to the single task conditions. Also, children with High ADHD had significantly lower performance than Low ADHD children on task-based social encoding and WM. This study supports the role of WM in nonverbal social encoding in children.

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Notes

  1. The low percentage of Asian and Hispanic/Latino participants prevented us from examining differences across all racial/ethnic groups in the study.

  2. For partial eta squared, 0.01 = small, 0.06 = medium, and 0.14 = large.

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Funding

This study was not funded by any outside source or agency.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Roanoke College, 221 College Lane, Salem, VA, 24153, USA

    Dane C. Hilton

  2. Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, Box 870348, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA

    Matthew A. Jarrett, Ana T. Rondon, Josh Tutek & Mazheruddin M. Mulla

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Correspondence to Dane C. Hilton.

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Hilton, D.C., Jarrett, M.A., Rondon, A.T. et al. Increased Working Memory Load in a Dual-Task Design Impairs Nonverbal Social Encoding in Children with High and Low Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 51, 127–137 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-019-00915-3

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