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

Giofrè, D.; Allen, K.; Toffalini, E.; Mammarella, I.C.; Caviola, S.

doi:10.1016/j.intell.2021.101615

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

Giofrè, D.; Allen, K.; Toffalini, E.; Mammarella, I.C.; Caviola, S.

Authors

D. Giofrè

Dr Katie Allen katie.allen@durham.ac.uk
Academic Visitor

E. Toffalini

I.C. Mammarella

S. Caviola

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.

Citation

Giofrè, D., Allen, K., Toffalini, E., Mammarella, I., & Caviola, S. (2022). Decoding gender differences: Intellectual profiles of children with specific learning disabilities. Intelligence, 90, Article 101615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2021.101615

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Dec 9, 2021
Online Publication Date	Dec 23, 2021
Publication Date	2022-02
Deposit Date	Feb 10, 2022
Publicly Available Date	Dec 24, 2023
Journal	Intelligence
Print ISSN	0160-2896
Publisher	Elsevier
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	90
Article Number	101615
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2021.101615
Public URL	https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1214284

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© 2022 This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/