“Executive Functions in ADHD: A Narrative Review of Meta- Analytic Evidence Through a Dimensional Lens”

Traditional psychiatric frameworks classify Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) using rigid, categorical diagnostic boundaries. However, contemporary neurodevelopmental research suggests that its primary cognitive marker, executive dysfunction, exists along a continuous trait spectrum that extends into the neurotypical population. Grounded in a recent meta-analytic review, this bachelor's thesis presents a narrative review of existing high-level meta-analytic evidence. The empirical analysis isolates core latent Executive Function domains, principally Response Inhibition, Set shifting/Cognitive Flexibility, Planning/Organization, Fluency, and Problem Solving, tracking standard mean differences and performance profiles across both clinical cohorts and general population samples. The synthesized meta-analytic data reveals substantial, multi-domain cognitive impairments rather than an isolated, single foundational breakdown. This widespread "multi-deficit" profile is in line with a dimensional interpretation where disorders represent the lower tails of continuous traits distributed throughout the general population. However, significant terminological and methodological heterogeneity remains across the underlying literature. A narrative review of the protocol's selected meta-analyses is consistent with the view that executive dysfunction in ADHD may be conceptualized as a continuous spectrum of neurodevelopmental traits.