Intelligence and fine motor skills in typically developing children and children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

Klupp, S (Stephanie)¹, Möhring, W (Wenke)¹, Grob, A (Alexander)^1
1University of Basel

 

Submission type

Poster only

Scheduled

Hallway, 22-07-2016, 16:00 - 17:00

Keywords

intelligence, cognition, motor, fine motor skills, development, ADHD

Summary

Fine motor skills (FMS) are related to a range of cognitive skills. These relations were shown in typically developing (TD) children aged 3-8 years. The present study investigated the relation between FMS and intelligence in older TD children and in children with ADHD. The sample consisted of 45 children with ADHD (Mage= 10.67 years, 9 females) and 88 TD children (Mage= 10.16 years, 46 females). FMS were measured with the subtest manual dexterity of the M-ABC-2. Full-scale IQ and the four indices of the WISC-IV served as cognitive variables. After accounting for effects of sex and maternal education, regressions indicated significant relations between FMS and full-scale IQ, perceptual reasoning, processing speed and working memory (TD: all ßs > .242; ADHD all ßs > .327). FMS was significantly related to verbal comprehension in children with ADHD (ß = .403) but not in TD children (ß = .026). This difference between groups was supported by a significant FMSxGroup interaction (p = .036). These results suggested a close relation between FMS and intelligence in children with and without ADHD. This association was found for older TD children, suggesting that FMS continue to be an indicator for cognitive skills in middle childhood.

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