Emotion Regulation in Participants Diagnosed With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Before and After an Emotion Regulation Intervention

Emotion Regulation in Participants Diagnosed With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Before and After an Emotion Regulation Intervention

Sánchez M, Lavigne R, Romero JF, Elósegui E.

Front Psychol. 2019 May 24;10:1092.

doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01092.

Commentary* by Dr. Margaret Weiss: Targeted intervention for executive function in patients with ADHD has been very effective, over and above any impact on core symptoms. In the same way, development of targeted intervention for the emotional dysregulation that is common and impairing in ADHD patients may be very helpful.

ABSTRACT

The study of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) addresses variables related to three core symptoms: inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. However, it has been suggested that in recent years emotional difficulties and subsequent social challenges have not received sufficient attention. This study had two objectives: (1) to compare the performance of participants (age range: 8-14 years) on facial emotion recognition tasks using the Affect Recognition subtest of the Children Neuropsychological Battery II; and (2) to assess the perceptions of family members in relation to variables associated with emotional problems, difficulty in regulating emotions, and anger management using the Spanish Assessment System for Children and Adolescents. Assessments were conducted before and after applying an emotion regulation intervention designed for this study. Following the intervention, there was a significant decrease in scores associated with emotional regulation, and an improvement in the identification of affect on facial recognition tasks. The results suggest that despite ADHD children and adolescents having social and emotional deficits secondary to the core symptom triad, emotional regulation in this group can be improved by the application of socio-emotional intervention programs.

* Les résumés scientifiques (abstracts) sont sélectionnés pour leur pertinence clinique par Dre. Margaret Weiss, Directrice de la recherche clinique, pédopsychiatrie, Cambridge Health Alliance, Université Harvard. Ses commentaires reflètent sa propre opinion. Ils ne sont ni approuvés par la CADDRA, ni nécessairement représentatifs de celle-ci.