Computerized versus manual versions of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test: Implications with typically developing and ADHD children

ARÁN FILIPPETTI, VANESSA; KRUMM, GABRIELA L.; RAIMONDI, WALDINA

Applied Neuropsychology: Child

Taylor and Francis

Año: 2020 vol. 9 p. 1 - 16

2162-2965

The aims of study 1 (S1) were (i) to compare the task performance of 361 typicallydeveloping (TD) children aged 7 to 12 years, according to the mode of WCST administration(manual vs. computerized), and ii) to examine the contributions of executive functions (EFs) (i.e.,working memory (WM), shifting and inhibition) to each WCST version. The objectives of study2 (S2) were (i) to study the comparability of the results obtained from the manual version to theresults from the computer version in 43 children with ADHD and (ii) to compare taskperformance on both versions between children with ADHD and TD children. The effect of agewas only significant for the manual WCST. Regression analyses revealed that WM and shiftingcontributed to manual WCST performance, whereas WM and inhibition contributed to theperformance on the computer version. We observed differences depending on the WCST mode ofadministration, as better scores for the manual version were recorded for both TD children andchildren with ADHD, despite similar performance on tasks involving other EFs. Additionally,children with ADHD performed worse than TD children on both versions. Our findings suggestthat verbal face-to-face interactions would play a significant role in supporting children’s abilitiesto solve novel situations characterized by uncertainty.