Study reveals that one in two adolescents with ADHD have trouble managing emotions

It is known that people with ADHD have problems with self-control, which affects their ability to regulate and manage emotions
The findings are published in the journal Nature Mental Health
The findings are published in the journal Nature Mental HealthEdexLive Desk
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As per a new study, one in every two adolescents having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have trouble managing their emotions, which can come out as explosive outbursts, depression or anxiety. 

People with ADHD have short attention spans, along with hyperactivity, restlessness, and impulsivity. Being a neurodevelopmental disorder, it is commonly diagnosed in children and adolescents but can persist into adulthood, stated a report by PTI.

It is known that people with ADHD have problems with self-control, which affects their ability to regulate and manage emotions.

The team of researchers from the University of Cambridge, UK, and Fudan University, China, also found strong evidence that high levels of emotion dysregulation raises the likelihood of developing more ADHD symptoms.

The findings are published in the journal Nature Mental Health.

"Parents and teachers often say they have problems controlling children with ADHD, and it could be that when the children can't express themselves well — when they hit emotional difficulties — they may not be able to control their emotions and have an outburst rather than communicating with the parent, teacher or the other child," author Barbara Sahakian from the University of Cambridge said.

The researchers developed an ADHD symptom score, based on data available for over 6,000 individuals from the ABCD study. The score indicated an individual's chances of having the disorder.

Of all the participants, children showing low symptoms of ADHD at ages 12 and 13 but having high emotion dysregulation at age 13, were 2. 85 times more likely to have developed high-ADHD symptoms upon turning 14, compared to those having less trouble managing emotions, the team found.

Acknowledging emotion dysregulation as a key part of ADHD will help people better understand the problems the child is experiencing, and could lead to using effective treatments for regulation of emotion, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, the researchers said.

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