Emotion regulation in ADHD, anxiety and co-morbid ADHD/anxiety

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Exploring differences in emotion regulation between children with ADHD, anxiety and co-morbid ADHD/anxiety

  • IRAS ID

    159446

  • Contact name

    Julie Hadwin

  • Contact email

    jah7@soton.ac.uk

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 11 months, 31 days

  • Research summary

    The current project aims to identify cognitive and emotional factors underlying the comorbidity between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety disorder. ADHD is a prevalent psychiatric disorder in childhood and has a 25% comorbidity rate with anxiety (Jarrett & Ollendick, 2008). In order to develop a conceptual understanding of the factors underlying this co morbidity, we aim to explore differences in the ability to regulate attention, behaviour and emotion between four groups: children with ADHD, children with anxiety disorder(s), children with co-morbid ADHD and anxiety disorder, children with neither disorder.

    The current study will focus on two experimental tasks that assess the ability to regulate attention and behaviour in emotional and non-emotional contexts. Eye movements will be used to provide a measure of attentional and behavioural control. The first task assesses whether participants are able to appropriately execute and suppress eye movements in the presence of emotional and non-emotional stimuli. The second task assesses whether participants can use symbolic cues (arrows) and gaze cues (a face with eyes directed right or left) with different facial expressions/emotions to shift attention to a cued location. We hypothesise that children experiencing ADHD-only symptoms will display greater difficulties controlling attention and behaviour in non-emotional tasks compared with the anxious, co-morbid and control group (anxiety in the comorbid group may moderate impulsivity). We expect cognitive symptoms of anxiety to dominate in emotional tasks such that children experiencing anxiety (the anxiety only and comorbid groups) will display greater impairments in attentional and behavioural regulation in the presence of threatening stimuli compared with the ADHD group and control group.

    Young people with ADHD, anxiety and comorbid ADHD/anxiety will be recruited from the South Hampshire Register and they will complete the experimental tasks in the Psychology Academic Unit at the University of Southampton in a session lasting approximately three hours.

  • REC name

    South Central - Berkshire B Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    15/SC/0405

  • Date of REC Opinion

    16 Oct 2015

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion