Objective@#To investigate the relationship between fine
motor skills and
executive function in
school aged boys with
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (
ADHD)
aged 6-10 years, so as to provide a reference for promoting
executive function.@*
Methods@#From November 2022 to May 2021,65
boys with
ADHD were recruited from a
tertiary hospital in
Beijing and a public
elementary school in
Beijing, and 65
boys with typical development according to age and
sex were recruited as controls.
Children s fine
motor skills were assessed using the
movement assessment battery for
children, second version (MABC-2), and
children s inhibitory control,
working memory, and cognitive
flexibility were assessed using the Stroop
color word test (SCWT), Rey osterrich complex figure test (ROCFT) and
trail making test (TMT), respectively. Independent samples t-tests were used to analyze the differences between the two groups, and Pearson correlation
analysis and stratified
regression analysis were used to explore the relationship between fine
motor skills and
executive functioning in
boys with
ADHD.@*Results@#In the fine
motor skills test,
boys with
ADHD scored significantly lower (8.68±3.62) than control
boys (11.22±2.27)( t =4.80, P <0.05); in the
executive function test, the results of SCWT, ROCFT, and TMT tests were significantly worse in
boys with
ADHD than in normal
boys ( t =-4.53-4.42, P < 0.05). Correlation
analysis showed that the fine
motor skill scores of
boys with
ADHD were negatively correlated with the number of word sense errors ( r =-0.35) and
color errors ( r =-0.42), and positively correlated with
memory scores for delayed structure ( r =0.30) and detail ( r =0.25), which were negatively correlated with TMT-A ( r =-0.34),TMT-B
reaction time ( r =-0.26), number of errors ( r =-0.43) ( P <0.05). Stratified
regression analysis showed that fine
motor skill scores of
boys with
ADHD were predictive of test results for inhibitory control,
working memory and cognitive
flexibility, with explanatory rates of 15%, 7%, and 19%, respectively.@*Conclusion@#Fine
motor skills in
boys with
ADHD are correlated with
executive functions, and fine
motor skills could predict inhibitory control,
working memory and cognitive
flexibility to some extent. The development of fine
motor skills in boy with
ADHD could promote their
executive functions.