Evaluating emotional regulation in children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and their mothers

Objective: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood neurodevelopmental disorder. Due to prior studies, emotion dysregulation can cause externalizing behavior problems and social impairment. Parental factors are important for children’s emotional regulation. We aimed to evaluate emotional dysregulation in children with ADHD and their mothers comparing with controls. Methods: The study group consisted of 62 children (6-12 years old) diagnosed with ADHD. The control group (62 children) comprised patients of other clinics at hospital and was matched for gender and age to the ADHD patients. The Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL) was used to diagnose ADHD and allowed comorbidities. We evaluated disorder severity at the time of assessment using the Clinic Global Impression Scale (CGI-S). All patients were treatment-naive. Emotional Regulation Checklist (ERC) and child behavior checklist (CBCL) were used to examine children emotional regulation and behavioral profiles. Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) was used to indicate maternal emotional dysregulation status. Results: There was no significant difference between sociodemographic data of two groups. Children with ADHD had difficulties in anxiety, social functioning, thought problems, attention, aggression and rule breaking areas of CBCL. Mothers of children with ADHD had higher scores in all goals, impulsivity, strategies, and nonacceptance subscales of DERS. Emotional lability scores were statistically significant higher in ADHD group. Conclusion: ADHD generally continues into adolescence and adulthood and multiple functional impairments can be occurred due to ADHD. If the relationship between emotion regulation and ADHD is understood well, treatment of ADHD and emotion dysregulation will be provided easily. Further studies are needed for improving treatment of ADHD and emotion dysregulation. [Anadolu Psikiyatri Derg 2016; 17(5.000): 393-402]