Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Working Memory in Adults: A Meta-Analytic Review

Objective: Within the last decade, working memory (WM) has garnered increased interest as a potential core deficit or endophenotype of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The current study is the first meta-analytic review to examine several subject and task moderator variables' (e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuropsychology 2013-05, Vol.27 (3), p.287-302
Main Authors: Alderson, R. Matt, Kasper, Lisa J, Hudec, Kristen L, Patros, Connor H. G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Attention
Attention - physiology
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Human
Humans
Medical sciences
Memory, Short-Term - physiology
Miscellaneous
Neuropsychological Tests
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Short Term Memory
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Summary:Objective: Within the last decade, working memory (WM) has garnered increased interest as a potential core deficit or endophenotype of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The current study is the first meta-analytic review to examine several subject and task moderator variables' (e.g., percent female, diagnostic selection procedure, trials per set size, response demands, type of dependent variable, and central executive [CE] demands) effect on between-group phonological (PH) and visuospatial (VS) WM in adults with ADHD, relative to healthy controls. Method: Literature searches were conducted using the PsycINFO, Web of Science, and PubMed databases, and yielded 38 studies of WM in adults with ADHD. Results: Results revealed moderate-magnitude between-group effect sizes (ESs) across both WM domains. In addition, several task-moderating variables explained significant ES variability among PH and VS studies. Conclusions: Collectively, these findings indicate that WM deficits persist into adulthood and suggest that methodological variability may explicate why WM deficits have not been uniformly detected in previous experimental studies.
ISSN:0894-4105
1931-1559
DOI:10.1037/a0032371