The interpretation of long-distance anaphora in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Abstract In this study, the performance of Turkish-speaking adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in long-distance (LD) binding conditions of anaphors, a topic that remains insufficiently explored in the existing literature, was investigated. The relationship between their performance and theory of mind (ToM), as well as working memory (WM) skills, was also discussed. Adolescents aged 12–18 years with ADHD ( n = 42) and typically developing adolescents (TD; n = 40) were tested on their interpretation of the reflexive kendisi ‘self.3sg’, which has logophoric features in Turkish, using comprehension and self-paced reading tasks. The ADHD group performed poorly on LD-anaphors for the end-of-trial questions, and their reading times were shorter compared to TD peers. It has been suggested that short reading times for sentences containing LD-anaphors indicate shallow processing and that the failure is linked to inadequate WM or (and) ToM skills. This study emphasizes that the interpretive performance of LD-anaphors is not only associated with WM limitations, but also strongly associated with empathy and pragmatic use of language. The study underlines the need for future research efforts to examine these complex relationships in ADHD in greater depth.