The cognitive profile of adults with low literacy skills in alphabetic orthographies: A systematic review and comparison with developmental dyslexia

Dealing with text is crucial in modern societies. However, not everyone acquires sufficient literacy skills during school education. This systematic review summarizes and synthesizes research on adults with low literacy skills (ALLS) in alphabetic writing systems, includes results from behavioral and neurobiological studies, and compares these findings with those on developmental dyslexia given that this developmental disorder is one possible explanation for low literacy skills in adulthood. Twenty-seven studies focusing on the cognitive profile of ALLS met the three predefined criteria of reading level, age, and education. Results showed that ALLS performed worse than literate adults in various tasks at skill and information processing level, and exhibited structural and functional differences at the neurobiological level. The cognitive profile of ALLS was closer to that of primary school children than of literate adults. However, relative to children, ALLS’ literacy skills relied less on phonological and more on orthographic strategies. A narrative comparison of results with meta-analyses on developmental dyslexia showed large, though not complete, overlap in the cognitive profiles. The present results helps to better understand the literacy skills and reading-related cognitive functions of ALLS and may support the development of tailored interventions directed to the specific cognitive difficulties ALLS have.