Visual attention span deficit in developmental dyslexia: A meta-analysis

Jiuqing Tang; Xue'er Ma; Peng Peng; Kelina Cha; Yu'e Yao; Jingjing Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2023.104590

Visual attention span deficit in developmental dyslexia: A meta-analysis

Res Dev Disabil. 2023 Oct:141:104590. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2023.104590. Epub 2023 Sep 8.

Authors

Jiuqing Tang¹, Xue'er Ma¹, Peng Peng², Kelina Cha¹, Yu'e Yao¹, Jingjing Zhao³

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China.
² Department of Special Education, College of Education, The University of Texas at Austin, USA.
³ School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China. Electronic address: jingjing.zhao@snnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37683312
DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2023.104590

Abstract

Background: Visual attention span (VAS) refers to the number of visual elements processed simultaneously in a multielement array. Yet, there are mixed findings regarding VAS deficit in developmental dyslexia (DD) across different tasks, stimuli, languages, control groups, and ages.

Aim: The present meta-analysis aimed to investigate VAS deficit in DD and factors moderating VAS deficit in DD.

Methods: A meta-analysis based on 32 articles, 54 independent studies, and 4211 subjects was conducted. Effect sizes for each study were calculated and a random-effect model was selected. Task and stimulus types in the VAS task, writing system, orthographic depth, control group type, and age were included as possible moderators.

Results: 1) VAS in dyslexic individuals was significantly worse than typically developing individuals; 2) Task-stimulus type (report-verbal/n-back-verbal/n-back-nonverbal), writing system (alphabetic vs. Chinese), and control group type (age matched vs. reading matched) significantly moderated VAS deficit in DD. VAS deficit was more severe in report task with verbal stimuli than in n-back task with verbal and nonverbal stimuli. VAS deficit was more severe in alphabetic language than in Chinese. VAS deficit was more severe when compared with age-matched controls than compared with reading-matched controls.

Conclusion: VAS deficit is a possible etiology for DD and moderated by task-stimulus type, writing system, and control group type. These findings have important implications for the understanding of DD.

Keywords: Dyslexia; Meta-analysis; Visual attention span; Writing system.

Publication types

Review