Emotion dysregulation in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a meta-analysis
The findings support ED symptoms as a core feature of ADHD’s psychopathology and suggest that emotional lability, negative emotional responses, and emotion recognition play a more definitive role in the psychopathology of adults with ADHD.
Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec> <jats:title>Background</jats:title> <jats:p>Emotional symptoms are increasingly considered a core feature of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We aimed to quantify the evidence of emotional dysregulation and its respective facets in individuals with adult ADHD compared to healthy controls using meta-analysis.</jats:p> </jats:sec><jats:sec> <jats:title>Methods</jats:title> <jats:p>Two electronic databases (PubMed, PsycINFO) were reviewed to identify studies. Studies were eligible for inclusion that had reports on any measure of emotion (dys) regulation in adults (> 18 years of age) in clinically diagnosed patients with ADHD as well as healthy control participants. We included a total of 13 studies (<jats:italic>N</jats:italic> = 2535) to assess (1) the standardized mean difference in emotion dysregulation (ED) as a general factor and its specific facets (i.e., emotional lability, negative emotional responses, and emotion recognition) between adults with ADHD and healthy controls; and (2) the association between ADHD symptom severity and ED.</jats:p> </jats:sec><jats:sec> <jats:title>Results</jats:title> <jats:p>Compared to healthy controls, adults with ADHD revealed significantly higher levels of general ED (Hedges’ g = 1.17, <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.001; Hedges’ g is the adjusted effect size). With regard to intermediate dimensions of ED, emotional lability exhibited the strongest weighted effect (Hedges’ g = 1.20, CI [0.57, 1.83], <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.001). Furthermore, symptom severity and general ED correlated significantly (r = 0.54, <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.001). Regarding intermediate dimensions of ED, negative emotional responses correlated closely with ADHD symptom severity (r = 0.63, <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.001) and emotional lability (r = 0.52, <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.001).</jats:p> </jats:sec><jats:sec> <jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title> <jats:p>Our findings support ED symptoms as a core feature of ADHD’s psychopathology. With respect to dimensions of ED, emotional lability, and negative emotional responses play a more definitive role in the psychopathology of adults with ADHD. Due to insufficient statistical reports in the included studies, we could not perform meta-regressions to control the role of moderator variables.</jats:p> </jats:sec>