Abstract
Background Emotional dysregulation in subjects with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a topic of growing interest among clinicians and researchers. The present study aims at investigating components of emotional dysregulation in adults ADHD compared to subjects suffering from bipolar disorder (BD). Methods A total of 150 adults ADHD, 335 adults BD subjects and 48 controls were assessed using the Affective Lability Scale (ALS) and the Affect Intensity Measure (AIM), measuring respectively emotion lability and emotion responsiveness. Results ADHD and BD subjects scored significantly higher on the ALS compared to controls (p=0.0001). BD subjects scored above ADHD ones (3.07 (SD=0.66) vs. 2.30 (SD=0.68); p<0.0001). The average total scores achieved on the AIM were significantly different for the three groups (p=0.0001) with significantly higher scores for ADHD subjects compared to BD ones (3.74 (SD=0.59) vs. 3.56 (SD=0.69); p<0.0001). Limitations Suspected cases of ADHD in the BD and control groups were derived from the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS). This study is a retrospective one. Conclusion Our study thus highlights the importance of emotional dysregulation in adults suffering from ADHD, showing that they display higher emotional intensity than bipolar disorder subjects and controls. Although the current diagnostic criteria of ADHD do not contain an emotional dimension, a better recognition of the significance of emotional responsiveness in ADHD patients can improve the care afforded to these patients, beyond the inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive components.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 230-236 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of Affective Disorders |
Volume | 198 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul 1 2016 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Cognitive Sciences, Neurology and Psychiatry, the foundation Fondamental (fondation de coopération scientifique). This research was also supported the Investissements d’Avenir program managed by the ANR under reference ANR-11-IDEX-0004-02.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale) AP-HP (Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris), the ITMO Neurosciences,.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health