Table 1 Overview on reviews and studies concerning emotion regulation in ADHD and BPD
Author | Design | Population | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Berger et al. [82] | Review article | ADHD (developmental perspective) | Reviews empirical findings concerning selfregulation by focusing on | - |
ADHD, including a detailed review of animal models related to the disorder. | ||||
Bresner et al. [83] (Dissertation, in German) | Questionnaire study | Adults with ADHD (n = 50) and control subjects (n = 67) | Self-ratings concerning the experience and control of emotions, state and trait anger, coping behavior and also neuropsychological assessment of attention. | ADHD patients reported more emotion regulation and coping problems. They reported a tendency to rumination and resignation as well as the feeling of being frequently overwhelmed by their emotions. |
Carpenter & Trull [67] | Review article | BPD | Reviews scientific evidence for the components of Linehan’s biosocial theory (emotion sensitivity, heightened and labile negative affect, deficit of appropriate regulation strategies, surplus of maladaptive regulation strategies). | - |
Desman et al. [84] (in German) | Neuropsychological laboratory study with go-/nogo-task modified from the Testbattery for Attentional Performance | Boys with ADHD (n = 19) and control boys (n = 19) | Five conditions of the task: neutral, feedback, reward only, response cost only, reward, and response cost. Performance, emotional well-being and coping were recorded. | Boys with ADHD showed an age-dependent deficit in behavioral inhibition as well as reduced attention independent of condition. Boys with ADHD reported increased challenge and more rumination. |
Martel [19] | Review article | ADHD (developmental perspective) | Literature review on studies addressing relations among emotional regulation, disruptive behavior disorders, and ADHD. | - |
Marx et al. [81] | Laboratory study, emotional working memory task (n-back task) | adults with ADHD (n = 39), matched control subjects (n = 40) | In the background of the working-memory task stimuli that varied in emotional saliency which had to be ignored during the task. | ADHD patients showed a general working memory deficit and enhanced distractability by emotionally salient stimuli. |
Musser et al. [87] | Laboratory study, assessment of physiological data | Children with ADHD (n = 32) and control children (n = 34) | Parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system reactivity was measured (respiratory sinus arrhythmia–RSA, cardiac pre-ejection period–PEP) during an emotion task with four conditions (2 valences and 2 emotion regulation strategies): induction of negative affect, suppression of negative affect, induction of positive affect, suppression of positive affect. | Group differences parasympathetic regulation (RSA), no group differences in sympathetic activity (PEP). Control children showed adaptive alteration of RSA depending on emotional valence and emotion regulation strategy. Children with ADHD showed elevated parasympathetic activity across all task conditions compared to baseline. |
Rash & Aguirre-Camacho [88] | Systematic review | Children with ADHD | Review of studies examining the relationship between cardiac vagal control and ADHD. | - |
Sjöwall et al. [86] | Laboratory study with neuropsychological assessment and parent ratings | Children with ADHD (n = 102) and a matched control sample. | Executive functions (working memory, inhibition, and shifting), delay aversion, and reaction time variability were measured. Parent ratings of emotion regulation and a test of emotion recognition (facial expressions) were included. | Children with ADHD differed significantly from controls on all measures, except for delay aversion and recognition of disgust. |
Executive functioning, reaction time variability, and emotional functioning (especially anger regulation, anger recognition, and regulation of happiness) contributed independently to distinguishing between children with ADHD and controls. | ||||
Walcott & Landau [85] | Laboratory study, neuropsychological and behavioral data assessment | Boys with ADHD (n = 26) and control boys (n = 23) | A frustrating competitive puzzle task was administered as emotion regulation task. Half of all boys in each group were explicitly instructed to hide their feelings during the competition. Behavioral inhibition was examined using the Stop Signal Task | ADHD boys showed more disinhibition and less effective emotion regulation than comparison boys. They were unsuccessful in hiding their emotions. |
(SST), and emotion regulation was assessed via structured observation data. | Comparison boys were more successful in self-regulation. There was a relationship between emotion regulation competencies and effectiveness of inhibition. |