Abstract
Previous studies have shown that children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)/Dyspraxia have poorer maths performance compared to their neurotypical (NT) counterparts. However, no studies have explored the cognitive and emotional factors affecting the maths performance of adults with DCD. This study, therefore, investigated the role of working memory (WM), maths anxiety (MAS), and maths self-efficacy on the maths performance of adults with DCD. We found that adults with DCD had lower WM and maths performance and were more maths anxious than their NT peers. However, there were no significant differences in maths self-efficacy. When looking at the predictors of maths performance, we found a positive relationship between WM resources and the DCD maths performance, possibly indicating that they relied more on WM resources to perform simple mental arithmetic tasks than NTs. On the other hand, MAS had an inverse relationship with the NT maths performance but not with the DCD performance. The reasons and implications of these findings will be discussed.
•Adults with DCD had lower working memory (WM) and maths performance than neurotypical (NT) peers.•Adults with DCD were more anxious about maths compared to NTs.•There were no significant differences in maths self-efficacy.•We found a positive relationship between WM resources and the DCD maths performance.•Maths anxiety (MAS) had an inverse relationship with the NT maths performance.