Poster #47 - The Relationship Between ADHD, Emotional Lability, and Observed Emotion Regulation During a Working Memory Task

• In Event: 3-206 - Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: PS 13 Section - Developmental Disabilities

Integrative Statement

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a complex, neurodevelopmental disorder that affects approximately 7% of children (Barkley, 2006; Thomas et al., 2015). Children with ADHD are at-risk for several pejorative outcomes, including comorbid disorders (e.g., Jensen, Martin, & Cantwell, 1997), peer rejection (Hoza et al., 2005), executive dysfunction (Willcutt et al., 2005), and emotion regulation deficits (Graziano & Garcia, 2016). Moreover, working memory—the ability to temporarily store, maintain, and manipulate mental information (Baddeley, 2012)—has been found to underlie many ADHD-related deficits, such as inattention (Kofler et al., 2010), impulsivity (Patros et al., 2017), and academic underachievement (Rogers et al., 2011). However, the relationship between working memory and emotion regulation deficits in children with ADHD is less understood. The current study examined the relationship between Conners-3 Emotional Lability (e.g., unstable, rapid changes in emotions; Cole et al., 1994; Conners, 2008) and emotion regulation deficits observed during a working memory task.
Children (8-12 years) with (n = 36) and without (n = 32) ADHD were administered a psychodiagnostic evaluation that included standardized rating scales, clinical and psychosocial interviews, behavioral observations, and assessments of cognitive and academic functioning. Children who received an ADHD diagnosis were included in the ADHD group, while children who did not receive any diagnosis were included in the typically developing (TD) group. T-scores from the Emotional Lability subscales on the Conners-3 Parent Rating Scale and Conners-3 Teacher Rating Scale were averaged to create an Emotional Lability composite score. During research sessions, children were administered a Phonological Working Memory Task that presented a series of jumbled numbers and one letter. Children were instructed to respond by saying the numbers in numerical order and then the letter last. Video recordings of the task were then used to behaviorally code several emotion regulation codes, as described in Table 1.
Pearson’s correlations were used to examine the relationship between group status, the emotional lability composite score, and observed emotion regulation variables. Group status (ADHD, TD) was significantly correlated with the Conners-3 emotional lability composite (r = 0.56, p < .001), total emotion expression composite (r = 0.42, p < .001), self-criticism composite (r = 0.32, p = .007), solicitations composite (r = 0.25, p = .039), emotion ventilation composite (r = 0.32, p = .009), and positive emotion expression composite (r = 0.41, p < .001). Moreover, the Conners-3 emotional lability composite was significantly, positively correlated with several observational codes, including the total emotion expression composite (r = 0.39, p = .001), solicitations composite (r = 0.33, p = .007), emotion ventilation composite (r = 0.35, p = .004), and positive emotion expression composite (r = 0.34, p = .004). Small to moderate correlations were observed among emotion regulation composite scores and working memory performance (see Table 2).
These findings contribute to the understanding of how ratings of emotional lability relate to working memory-related emotion regulation deficits among children with ADHD. Further, findings from the current study can help to improve the assessment and treatment of ADHD-related emotion regulation deficits.

Authors

• Stephanie Jeanne Tarle, Oklahoma State University and Kennedy Krieger Institute
  Presenting Author

• R. Matt Alderson, Oklahoma State University
  Non-Presenting Author