Dissertation
Retrospective and prospective memory abilities of youth with Down syndrome and typically developing controls
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
Jun 2020
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00000237
Abstract
Down syndrome (DS), the most common form of intellectual disability with a known genetic etiology, is associated with global cognitive impairments, as well as specific memory difficulties including weaknesses in retrospective and prospective memory. However, longitudinal research on memory abilities of youth with DS remains scarce and research has yet to investigate factors that influence prospective memory skills of youth with DS. Gaining a better understanding of retrospective and prospective memory abilities across childhood and adolescence may provide an important benchmark against which age-related memory decline can be compared for adults with DS as well as a reference for research examining longitudinal change in memory secondary to behavioral or pharmacological interventions. Consequently, the current study aimed to provide a comprehensive analysis of short-term (STM), working (WM), and long-term memory (LTM) abilities of youth with DS across two time points (T1 and T2, 18 months apart), as well as examine prospective memory (PM) abilities in this population. The study included 22 children with DS and 18 typically developing (TD) peers, matched on mental age at T1. Participants completed a battery of memory tests at the two time points. The results indicated that youth with DS performed worse than TD peers on a verbal STM task at T1 and T2, and although the DS group improved across time, the gain in scores from T1 to T2 was smaller than for the TD group. Additionally, youth with DS performed below their TD peers on a nonverbal LTM task at T1 and T2, and on a WM task at T2. PM analyses indicated that youth with DS performed marginally better on PM tasks involving social engagement in comparison to standard PM tasks, although these abilities were below the TD group performance. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed, with a focus on cognitive, behavioral, and pharmacological treatment for the DS population.
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Details
- Title
- Retrospective and prospective memory abilities of youth with Down syndrome and typically developing controls
- Creators
- Mary Godfrey
- Contributors
- Nancy Raitano Lee (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- 79 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences (Psychology); College of Arts and Sciences; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991014695542104721