title: Working memory deficits and social problems in children with ADHD.
abstract: Social problems are a prevalent feature of ADHD and reflect a major source of functional impairment for these children. The current study examined the impact of working memory deficits on parent- and teacher-reported social problems in a sample of children with ADHD and typically developing boys (N=39). Bootstrapped, bias-corrected mediation analyses revealed that the impact of working memory deficits on social problems is primarily indirect. That is, impaired social interactions in children with ADHD reflect, to a significant extent, the behavioral outcome of being unable to maintain a focus of attention on information within working memory while simultaneously dividing attention among multiple, on-going events and social cues occurring within the environment. Central executive deficits impacted social problems through both inattentive and impulsive-hyperactive symptoms, whereas the subsidiary phonological and visuospatial storage/rehearsal systems demonstrated a more limited yet distinct relationship with children's social problems.
authors.affiliation: Children's Learning Clinic-IV, Department of Psychology, University of Central Florida, P.O. Box 161390, Orlando, FL 32761, USA. michael.kofler@ucf.edu
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kofler
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Rapport
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bolden
authors.forename: Dustin E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Sarver
authors.forename: Joseph S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Raiker
authors.forename: R Matt
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Alderson
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D056344:Executive Function; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012919:Social Behavior