Does dual tasking ability change with age across childhood and adolescence? A systematic scoping review

Abstract

The aim of this literature search was to identify nature and extent of the evidence supporting the development of dual tasking skills in typically developing children. We systematically searched PsycINFO, Ovid and Pubmed for studies evaluating dual task performances of children and adolescents <18 years of age. 31 studies published in English from 1990 to 2016 were included. A descriptive analysis was used for data extraction and charting. Study findings reported that age influenced dual task performances under difficult or complex task conditions but they were found to be inconclusive when the tasks were equated at everyone's difficulty level. Therefore, greater attention should be paid to meet the methodological and interpretive challenges to investigate if task coordination in children is affected by the dual tasking skills or just by development of motor and cognitive systems in isolation.

Keywords: Adolescents; Children; Concurrent; Coordination; Dual task; Simultaneous.