Review of Emotion Regulation Psychosocial Interventions for Children and Adolescents with ADHD

Abstract

Emotion dysregulation (ED), emotional responses that impair goal-directed behavior, have been argued to be a core characteristic of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and are associated with functional impairment beyond the core symptoms of ADHD. Additionally, deficits in emotion regulation (ER), the ability to increase, decrease, or maintain the intensity, duration, and trajectory of emotions are common among children and adolescents with ADHD. Despite this, treatment efforts to improve such ER abilities and to decrease ED in youths with ADHD have been limited, particularly during the adolescent developmental period. Clinical knowledge was used to inform PsycInfo and Google Scholar searches to identify the relevant literature. This narrative review discusses transdiagnostic interventions (cognitive behavioral therapy, the Unified Protocol for Children/Adolescents, dialectical behavior therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and mindfulness-based interventions) that can be used to target ER in ADHD, and interventions for youths with ADHD that either have been found to improve ER outcomes or that directly target ER/ED for youths with ADHD and their families. We end our review by highlighting the gaps and limitations in the existing literature prior to drawing conclusions and making recommendations for future research in this important area.