Self‐Reports of Increased Prospective and Retrospective Memory Problems in Adults with Developmental Dyslexia

Abstract

Short-term and working memory problems in dyslexia are well-documented, but other memory domains have received little empirical scrutiny, despite some evidence to suggest that they might be impaired. Prospective memory is memory for delayed intentions, whilst retrospective memory relates to memory for personally experienced past events. To gain an understanding of subjective everyday memory experience, a self-report measure designed to tap prospective and retrospective memory was administered to 28 adults with dyslexia and 26 IQ-matched adults without dyslexia. Adults with dyslexia reported experiencing significantly more frequent problems with memory than the adults without dyslexia. Group differences were found across seven out of the eight questionnaire scales. Further to these analyses, the participants' own ratings were compared with proxy ratings provided by close associates. The perception of poorer memory abilities in the participants did not differ between respondent types. The self-reported difficulties are, thus, unlikely to be the result of lowered self-esteem or metacognitive awareness. More frequent difficulties with both types of memory would seem, therefore, to be experienced by adults with dyslexia in everyday life. Further laboratory-based research is recommended to explore both memory domains in dyslexia and to identify the cognitive mechanisms by which these problems occur. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A review of prospective memory impairments in developmental dyslexia: evidence, explanations, and future directions

“…These arguments provided the rationale for a recent program of research into PM in adults with dyslexia. Full details of the background characteristics of the samples tested are reported in Smith-Spark, Zięcik, and Sterling (2016a, 2016b, 2017a, 2017b.…”

“…Whilst the effects of dyslexia on PM have only been explored directly very recently (Khan, 2014;Smith-Spark, Zięcik et al, 2016a, 2016b, 2017a, 2017b, earlier research has identified dyslexia-related difficulties in areas of cognition which could be argued to draw on similar cognitive abilities to those involved in PM. Problems in the areas of organization, time-keeping, and planning have been reported in dyslexia and the relevance of these abilities to PM has recently been highlighted by Waldum and McDaniel (2016) in relation to performing complex everyday PM tasks.…”

“…The questions on the PRMQ can be subdivided into different scales relating to the type of memory assessed (PM or retrospective memory), whether the memory was short-or longer-term, and whether the recall cue was environmental or internal to the self. The PRMQ has been used in two different studies to uncover higher frequencies of memory error in dyslexia (Khan, 2014;Smith-Spark, Zięcik et al, 2016a). Khan (2014) administered the PRMQ (Smith et al, 2000) to children with and without dyslexia.…”

“…Moreover, details of the two group's relative scores on the screening measures were not reported and the criteria for inclusion in the group with dyslexia were not fully defined. Smith-Spark, Zięcik et al (2016a) administered the PRMQ (Smith et al, 2000) to a sample of adults with and without dyslexia. Higher frequencies of both PM and retrospective memory difficulties were reported by the respondents with dyslexia, with these problems affecting memory over both the shorter-and longer-term and when memories were environmentally-or internally-cued.…”

“…The proxy-rating PRMQ (Crawford, Henry, Ward & Blake, 2006) employs exactly the same questions as the PRMQ but is completed by a family member or close friend of the PRMQ respondent. Smith-Spark et al (2016a) administered it to close associates of their PRMQ respondents. These proxy-ratings also indicated a heightened frequency of PM (and, again, retrospective memory) difficulty in adults with dyslexia.…”