This experimental study, currently in progress, explores how executive
functions shape students' reading performance across digital and print
formats. Focusing on secondary school students with ADHD and their
typically developing (TD) peers, the research examines how core
executive abilities—such as working memory, attentional control,
inhibitory regulation, cognitive flexibility, and planning—mediate
outcomes in attentional focus, metacomprehension accuracy, and text
understanding. Participants—approximately 20 per group—read two
expository texts (approximately 2,000 words each), one on a laptop screen
and one on paper. While reading, they are intermittently prompted to report
whether their attention is on the task or if their thoughts have drifted
elsewhere (mind-wandering). After each text, they evaluate their
comprehension performance by estimating how many questions they
expect to answer correctly on a subsequent comprehension test about texts'
content. The study places particular emphasis on the extent to which
executive function skills account for individual differences in reading
engagement and comprehension across mediums. It is expected that
reading on screens will be associated with more frequent mind-wandering,
lower metacognitive accuracy, and reduced comprehension, especially in
students with ADHD. However, by statistically controlling for executive
function capacities, we hypothesize that group differences between
students with and without ADHD will be significantly reduced or
eliminated—suggesting that executive functions play a central, moderating
role in the so-called on-screen reading inferiority effect. Findings will be
presented at ICAP 2026. This work aims to contribute theoretically to our
understanding of how executive control processes interact with reading
environments and practically to educational strategies tailored for learners
with attention-related difficulties.