Executive Functions and Friendships in Primary School Children With ADHD, Dyslexia and Neurotypical Development

The present study explores the relationships among executive functions (EFs) (working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility), number of friends, friendship stability and friendship quality in neurotypical (NT) children and peers with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or dyslexia. The participants were 192 children (M age = 9.77, SD = 1.22) who responded to EFs tasks (working memory, Trail Making Test, Stroop test) and to the Friendship Quality Questionnaire. Results showed that NT children were significant better in all EFs, while children with dyslexia outperformed ADHD children only in working memory and cognitive flexibility. NT children had more mutual friends, longer-lasting best friendships with more positive qualities, followed by children with dyslexia who achieved higher scores than children with ADHD. Additionally, cognitive flexibility and working memory were predictive of all friendship variables in the three groups of children. Our findings contribute to scientific knowledge, as research linking EFs with friendships is very limited for children with and without learning disabilities.