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Article
The Effects of Stimulant Medication on Free Recall of Story Events among Children with ADHD
Psychology Faculty Publications
  • Ursula L. Bailey, University of Kentucky
  • Karen J. Derefinko, University of Kentucky
  • Richard Milich, University of Kentucky
  • Elizabeth P. Lorch, University of Kentucky
  • Amanda Metze, University of Kentucky
Abstract

This study investigated group differences in the recalls of stories by children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and comparison peers. Further, the study examined whether stimulant medication improved the story recall of children with ADHD relative to a placebo condition. Children were asked to recall both televised and audio taped stories. Free recall protocols were assessed for what information was recalled as a function of story structure features (i.e. status on or off the causal chain and event importance) and were rated for overall coherence. Relative to comparison peers, children with ADHD showed less influence of story structure features on recall, and produced less coherent recall of the audio taped stories. Medication had only limited effects on the story recall of children with ADHD. Specifically, medication did not increase these children’s sensitivity to events central to the stories and had no effect on the coherence of children’s recalls. The implications of the results for guiding future academic interventions are discussed.

Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2011
Disciplines
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1007/s10862-011-9249-2
Citation Information
Ursula L. Bailey, Karen J. Derefinko, Richard Milich, Elizabeth P. Lorch, et al.. "The Effects of Stimulant Medication on Free Recall of Story Events among Children with ADHD" (2011)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/richard_milich/26/