Abstract
Objectives
Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) show emotion dysregulation and underdeveloped inhibitory control associated with impairment in social, academic, and family functioning. The present study investigated whether inhibitory control mediates the association between emotion dysregulation and symptoms of ADHD and ODD in clinic referred children with disruptive behavior.
Methods
Standardized questionnaires and structured interviews were used to collect parent and teacher ratings of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral difficulties in a clinical sample of 297 children (M age = 8.24 (1.7); 79.3% male) with disruptive behavior.
Results
Inhibitory control mediated the relationship between parent- and teacher-reported emotion dysregulation and symptoms of ADHD and ODD in children with disruptive behavior.
Conclusions
Findings provide theoretical support for the role of emotional and cognitive mechanisms in ADHD and ODD. Additionally, findings suggest that emotion dysregulation and inhibitory control may be important targets for psychosocial interventions for children with ADHD and/or ODD symptoms.
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Data Availability
Because informed consent to release information was not provided by the participants, data from this study cannot be included in an open science repository. However, interested persons can contact the senior author to discuss releasing data on an individual basis.
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The authors acknowledge the assistance of Marcos Sanches in the form of statistics consultations.
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This research was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research project grant to Dr. Andrade.
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Study conceptualization and methodology was formulated collaboratively with all the three authors. Data curation, formal analyses, visualization, and project administration were completed by the first author. Funding was acquired by the first and third authors. Investigation was a collaborative effort undertaken by the third author and his research students and staff. The first author provided statistical analyses tools, and the third author provided all the other resources. Supervision was provided to the first author by the second and third authors. The original draft was written by the first author; and review and editing were overseen by the second and third authors.
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Singh, A.D., Bedard, AC.V. & Andrade, B.F. Inhibitory Control Mediates the Association Between Emotion Dysregulation and Symptoms of ADHD and ODD in Children with Disruptive Behavior. Adv Neurodev Disord 7, 579–590 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41252-023-00324-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41252-023-00324-7