Decoding gender differences: Intellectual profiles of children with specific learning disabilities

TL;DR

This study investigates gender differences in intellectual profiles of children with specific learning disabilities, revealing small female advantages in working memory, processing speed, and coding, with variations across different disorder types.

Contribution

It provides novel insights into gender-specific cognitive profiles in children with SLDs, focusing on atypically developing populations often overlooked in prior research.

Findings

Females show higher scores in working memory and processing speed.

Gender differences are most prominent in coding subtest, favoring females.

Distinct profiles observed across different SLD types with some gender variations.

Abstract

There has been a significant amount of debate around gender differences in intellectual functioning, however, most of this research concerns typically developing populations and lacks research into atypically developing populations and those with specific learning disabilities (SLD). To address this, we examined performance on the WISC-IV in children with SLDs (N=1238, N female= 539, Age range = 7-16 years). We further divided the sample into those with specific deficits in reading, mathematics, and those with mixed disorder. Results indicate that gender predicts significant differences in the working memory index and processing speed index only, indicating a small but significant female superiority. Results also show different profiles for the different disorders investigated, with some gender differences emerging. The most prominent gender difference appears to be in the coding subtest indicating a female advantage, particularly in those with SLDs with mathematical difficulties. We discuss the theoretical and clinical implications of the findings.