Current literature suggests school-aged children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) overestimate their competence in comparison to adult-report or objective performance outcomes, often referred to as positive illusory bias (PIB). PIB research has primarily focused on children’s perceived competence within the academic, social, and behavioral domains with surprisingly limited research in the physical domain. In addition, relatively few studies have examined PIB in relation to cognitive dysfunction and whether higher order cognition may underlie both motor deficits and PIB in children with ADHD. Accordingly, the aim of this study was two-fold: (a) to assess whether children with ADHD overestimate their competence in the physical domain, and (b) to investigate whether PIB is more pronounced with greater cognitive dysfunction. Using a cross-sectional design, participants (N = 28, Mage = 9.6 1.3 years) were assessed on self-report measures of competence, interference and working memory tasks, and motor skill ability. Findings showed child report of competence for the athletic domain to be higher than, but not significantly different from, parent report, t(27) = 1.52, p < .05. However, hierarchical regression analyses showed flanker incongruent reaction time (F(1, 23) = 5.34, p < .05) to explain 18% of PIB variance beyond covariates. Based on this finding, future work is recommended that examines the intersection of cognitive dysfunction, motor performance, and ADHD in children.
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