The Effect of Self-Controlled Feedback on Motor Performance and Learning in Adolescents with ADHD

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of autonomy support (i.e., in the form of self-controlled feedback) on learning and self-efficacy in a throwing skill in adolescents with ADHD. The subjects were 40 adolescents with ADHD (14 to 17 years old) and were randomly and equally divided into two groups: self-controlled and yoked. Motor task consisted of throwing bean bags with the non-dominant arm at a target on the ground. The participants completed the pretest (10 trials), an acquisition phase including 6 blocks of 10 trials, and a retention test consisting of 10 trials. The participants in the self-controlled group received knowledge of result (KR) anytime the requested. The yoked group was matched with self-controlled group, but without having a choice to request for feedback. Prior to pretest, each block, and before the retention test, all participants completed the self-efficacy scale. Dependent measures were throwing accuracy scores and self-efficacy. Independent t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures were used to analyze the data. The results showed that participants in the self-controlled group had significantly higher throwing accuracy scores in the acquisition phase and the retention test than those in yoked group. Moreover, participants in the self-controlled group reported significantly higher self-efficacy scores in the acquisition phase and the retention test than those in yoked group. The results of this study show that people with ADHD benefit from autonomy support to learn a novel motor skill.