Impairment of cognitive memory inhibition in individuals with intellectual disability: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Cognitive inhibition impairment is intimately related to the forgetfulness of relevant information. This meta-analysis aims to synthesise the evidence of impaired function of cognitive inhibition processes over memory in individuals with intellectual disability (ID). Method: Eleven studies were selected and analysed and included a total of 683 participants. The studies were categorised according to variables such as the task used, the processes involved, the sensory modalities and the method. Results: Despite the small sample of studies, the results revealed significant difficulties with cognitive memory inhibition (CMI) tasks in individuals with ID compared with typical development (TD) individuals (d = 0.62). CMI problems were found in all life stages except the 19-45-year-old stage. In this stage, there was a smaller amount of evidence even though it included the 31-40-year-old range, during which premature aging has been observed in ID. Conclusions: An impairment of CMI in people with ID was observed. More studies are needed to more reliably assess the potential moderating role of age and other factors.