The Impact of COVID-19 on Story Retelling and Verbal Working Memory in Young Adults: A Comparative Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND The impact of COVID-19 has primarily been studied in the context of language delays or developmental disorders in infants and children. However, the effects on young adults have received less attention. COVID-19 not only affects physical health but also cognitive and language functions, which is an emerging area of research. While previous studies have focused on developmental stages, the effects of COVID-19 on the language abilities of healthy young adults remain underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the spoken language, particularly in story retelling and working memory, in young adults. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to assess the effects of COVID-19 on spoken language abilities, particularly story retelling and working memory, in young adults. The study sought to understand how COVID-19 might influence the spoken discourse abilities of young adults, and whether these effects are temporary or long-lasting. METHODS The study involved 77 young adult participants, of whom 39 were in the non-COVID group and 38 were in the COVID group. Participants underwent the Story Retelling Procedure (SRP) and working memory tests. The SRP test, which heavily relies on auditory comprehension and memory, was used to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on spoken discourse. Working memory was also assessed to examine potential COVID-related disruptions in cognitive functions. RESULTS The results revealed a significant reduction in performance on the SRP test in the COVID group compared to the non-COVID group. The mean score for the COVID group was 5.67 (SD = 2.01), while the non-COVID group’s mean was 7.15 (SD = 1.78), with a statistically significant difference (p = 0.03). This suggests that COVID-19 had a negative impact on the ability to retell stories. However, no significant differences were found in working memory performance between the two groups (p = 0.45), indicating that working memory was not notably affected by COVID-19 in this sample. CONCLUSIONS COVID-19 was found to negatively affect spoken discourse, particularly story retelling abilities, in young adults, although it did not impact working memory. The findings suggest that COVID-19 may cause temporary disruptions in language abilities in healthy young adults, with implications for future studies on long-term effects, particularly regarding long-COVID symptoms. Further research is needed to explore the lasting impact of COVID-19 on language processing, especially in individuals experiencing persistent symptoms.