Poster #49 - Change in Negative Affect in Children with ADHD and Comorbid Internalizing Disorders

• In Event: 1-061 - Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Section - Developmental Psychopathology

Integrative Statement

Objective. Negative affect (NA) refers to aversive emotional states, such as anger, fear, worry, and disgust (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988). Prior research has focused on the role of NA in internalizing disorders. In fact, the tripartite model of psychopathology (Clark & Watson, 1991) focuses on the role of negative and positive affect in differentiating anxiety and depression. However, the role of NA in ADHD is less clear. Some research suggests that children with ADHD have similar levels of NA as their peers (Laurent, Joiner, & Catanzaro, 2011), however others suggest increased NA, particularly when completing challenging tasks (Shaw, Stringaris, Nigg, & Leibenluft, 2015). Further, children with ADHD have more emotional lability and reactivity than their peers (Stringaris & Goodman, 2009). To date, limited research has examined specific patterns of negative affect throughout the day in children with ADHD as well as children with internalizing disorders. Therefore, the present study examines the change in negative affect throughout the day in children with ADHD and comorbid internalizing disorders.
Methods. Parents of 18 children with ADHD-only, 12 children with ADHD and a comorbid internalizing disorder, and 32 children without ADHD or an internalizing disorder ages 8 -12 completed the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS; Phillips, Lonigan, Driscoll, & Hooe, 2002) three times a day for one week as part of an EMA protocol.
Results. An ANCOVA was conducted to assess differences in change in NA between children ADHD-only, and ADHD with a comorbid internalizing disorder. Gender, age, and ADHD medication status was controlled for. Results of the ANCOVA indicated significant differences between diagnostic groups, F(2,56) = 3.89, p = .026. Post-hoc pairwise comparisons reveal that children with ADHD have a significantly greater change in NA than the non-ADHD group (Mean Difference = .113, p = .016) and the comorbid group (MD = .118, p = .021). No other significant differences were observed. Further examinations of the mean difference scores indicated that the ADHD-only group was the only group that demonstrated an increase in average NA from afternoon to evening timepoints.
Conclusions. Results from the present study suggest that children with ADHD have a substantial increase in NA throughout the day, as measured by an EMA protocol. The change in negative affect was significantly greater than that of children without ADHD, and children with ADHD and a comorbid disorder. Contrary to expectation, children with ADHD and a comorbid internalizing disorder do not have greater change in NA than children with ADHD-only or children in the control group. This may be due to a consistently high level of negative affect present in internalizing disorders. Future research should control for overall negative affect, as well as include an internalizing-only group.

Authors

• Kelly Slaughter, University of Louisville
  Presenting Author

• Kirsten Leaberry, University of Louisville
  Non-Presenting Author

• Joseph Reese, University of Louisville
  Non-Presenting Author

• Paul J. Rosen, University of Louisville
  Non-Presenting Author