Meta-analysis on inhibition from childhood to young adulthood in people with Down syndrome.
People with Down syndrome show a lifelong, small inhibition gap, so build in extra wait time and stop cues.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Martina and her team looked at 21 past studies on inhibition in Down syndrome.
They pulled data from kids, teens, and young adults.
They compared each person with Down syndrome to a typically developing child of the same mental age.
What they found
The group with Down syndrome scored a little worse on every inhibition task.
The gap was small but real across all ages.
This means waiting, stopping, and switching are harder for them, even when matched for mental age.
How this fits with other research
Eussen et al. (2016) showed preschoolers with Down syndrome quit a delay game sooner than peers.
Martina’s 2021 numbers now confirm that finding holds across the whole lifespan.
Prasher et al. (1995) saw sharper attention drops after age 40 in adults with Down syndrome.
The meta-analysis did not split by age, so the adult decline may hide inside the small overall deficit.
Witecy et al. (2017) found language skills keep growing until adolescence then stop.
Because language helps inhibition, stalled language could partly explain the plateau in self-control.
Why it matters
You can expect clients with Down syndrome to need extra wait time and clear stop cues at every age.
Pair inhibition drills with language supports, since both skills feed each other.
Track any sudden drop in self-control after 40 as a possible early sign of dementia.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Few studies have investigated inhibition in people with Down syndrome (DS), indicating contradictory results. AIM: This meta-analysis investigated if people with DS show more severe difficulties on inhibition, compared to typically developing (TD) children matched on a measure of mental age (MA). METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Literature search included studies conducted before March 2019, combining the following keywords: "Down syndrome" with "Inhibition", "Interference control", "Effortful control", "Impulsivity", "Self-regulation", and "Executive functions". Descriptive information was coded, according to inclusions criteria. Meta-analysis of standardized differences between DS and TD groups' means was performed. Relevant moderators were also considered. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Eight studies were included in the meta-analysis, including 161 people with DS and 160 TD children. The results indicated that people with DS showed significantly lower inhibition abilities when they are matched on MA with TD children, instead no significant differences emerged when this matching was not provided. A high heterogeneity across studies was estimated. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: This meta-analysis indicates that people with DS show, on average, an inhibition deficit compared to TD matched children, albeit not a severe one. These results suggest the importance of investigating in depth inhibition processes in people with DS from childhood to young adulthood.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2021 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103838