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“To make a molehill out of a mountain”: An ERP-study on cognitive reappraisal of negative pictures in children with and without ADHD

Authors:
Valerie Van Cauwenberge
Valerie Van Cauwenberge
Valerie Van Cauwenberge
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Rachida El Kaddouri at Ghent University
Rachida El Kaddouri
Hoppenbrouwers Karel at KU Leuven
Hoppenbrouwers Karel
Jan R. Wiersema at Ghent University
Jan R. Wiersema
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Abstract

Objective: We investigated cognitive reappraisal in children with ADHD by means of the late positive potential (LPP) and self-report ratings. We expected diminished LPP modulation following reappraisal and lower self-report scores in children with ADHD. Methods: Eighteen children with ADHD and 24 typically developing (TD) children (8-12years) performed a cognitive reappraisal task, while EEG was recorded, and filled out a questionnaire on cognitive reappraisal. Results: Despite the lack of main reappraisal effects on LPP, the LPP was less positively modulated during reappraisal in ADHD compared to TD children. Conclusions: Children with ADHD reported less use of reappraisal and could be distinguished from TD children based on LPP modulation. However the lack of main effects of reappraisal on LPP in both groups hinders clear interpretation of this finding and questions the suitability of LPP modulation within the current paradigm as a neural index of reappraisal in children 8-12years old, and warrants further research on the inter-individual variability and sensitivity of LPP modulation as a neural index of emotion regulation in children. Significance: This is the first study investigating the LPP during cognitive reappraisal in children with ADHD.
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Data Storage Fact Sheet Van Cauwenberge, El Kadourri, et al, Clinical Neurophysiology, Cognitive reappraisal ADHD.txt
% Data Storage Fact Sheet
% Name/identifier study: LPP ADHD
% Author: Valerie Van Cauwenberge
% Date: 10/02/2017
1. Contact details
===========================================================
1a. Main researcher
-----------------------------------------------------------
- name: Valerie Van Cauwenberge
- address: Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Gent
- e-mail: Valerie.VanCauwenberge@UGent.be
1b. Responsible Staff Member (ZAP)
-----------------------------------------------------------
- name: Roeljan Wiersema
- address: Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Gent
- e-mail: Roeljan.Wiersema@UGent.be
If a response is not received when using the above contact details, please send
an email to data.pp@ugent.be or contact Data Management, Faculty of Psychology
and Educational Sciences, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
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* Reference of the publication in which the datasets are reported: Van
Cauwenberge, V., El Kaddouri, R., Hoppenbrouwers, K., & Wiersema, J.R. (2017).
“To make a molehill out of a mountain”: An ERP-study on cognitive reappraisal of
negative pictures in children with and without ADHD. Clinical Neurophysiology.
doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2017.01.008
* Which datasets in that publication does this sheet apply to?: all the data
used in the manuscript
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Data Storage Fact Sheet Van Cauwenberge, El Kadourri, et al, Clinical Neurophysiology, Cognitive reappraisal ADHD.txt
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v0.2
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... There is evidence that patients with ADHD have difficulty in shifting their attention and allocating their attentional resources (Gualtieri & Johnson, 2006). Children with ADHD use distraction and reappraisal less frequently than children without ADHD (Schmitt et al., 2012;Cauwenberge et al., 2017). Since children with ADHD have difficulties in using distraction and reappraisal (Schmitt et al., 2012;Cauwenberge et al., 2017), instructing these emotion regulation strategies may have benefits for them. ...
... Children with ADHD use distraction and reappraisal less frequently than children without ADHD (Schmitt et al., 2012;Cauwenberge et al., 2017). Since children with ADHD have difficulties in using distraction and reappraisal (Schmitt et al., 2012;Cauwenberge et al., 2017), instructing these emotion regulation strategies may have benefits for them. In a study by Hagstrøm et al. (2020) on four groups of 8-12 years old children including a group with ADHD, a group with Tourette syndrome (TS), a group with ADHD and TS, and a control group, participants were instructed to employ reappraisal to decrease negative emotion while looking at negative pictures. ...
... The findings of the present study suggest that although children with ADHD have difficulties shifting their attentional resources (Gualtieri & Johnson, 2006) and use lower levels of cognitive change such as reappraisal relative to those without ADHD (Schmitt et al., 2012;Cauwenberge et al., 2017), they can use emotion regulation strategies to condition that participants do not use any emotion regulation strategies. Our findings on the use of reappraisal are consistent with Hagstrøm et al.'s (2020) study that showed the use of reappraisal decrease negative emotion across all participants and extend them to distraction as an emotion regulation strategy. ...
Examining emotion regulation using a distraction and reappraisal task in children and adolescents with and without ADHD
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2023
  • CURR PSYCHOL
Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have difficulty with emotion regulation relative to their non-ADHD peers, including the use of distraction and reappraisal to regulate emotions. The aim of the current study was to examine emotion regulation in children and adolescents with ADHD using distraction and reappraisal strategies. A group of 20 children and adolescents with ADHD (85% male; mean age = 11.55) and 20 non-ADHD matched controls (85% male; mean age = 11.65 years) completed an experimental task in which they were instructed to react naturally or decrease negative emotion using distraction and reappraisal in response to negative emotional pictures. Participants were asked to rate their emotion after viewing each picture. A significant main effect of instruction on emotion regulation was found, indicating that the distraction and reappraisal instructions improved emotion regulation in both groups. No effect for group or group by instruction was significant. Children and adolescents with ADHD can regulate their emotions as well as non-ADHD controls when they are trained to use distraction and reappraisal. Treatment development efforts should consider the addition of training in emotion regulation strategies for children and adolescents with ADHD.
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... Indeed, an earlier study also showed that, through emotion regulation training, ADHD patients were able to effectively reduce negative emotions after increased use of CR [11], partially corroborating our findings. While less frequent use of CR has also been found in studies of children with ADHD [12,13]. However, to our knowledge, no study that explores the relationship between clinical symptoms and emotion regulation strategies covering both CR and ES. ...
... This result is not entirely consistent with our prior hypothesis: lower CR in ADHD children aligns with findings in adults, while lower ES does not [9]. The lower CR usage is in line with previous findings indicating deficient CR is a recognized abnormality in ADHD children [13]. However, no prior research indicated the lower ES in children with ADHD. ...
Emotion regulation strategy and its relationship with emotional dysregulation in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: behavioral and brain findings
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2025
  • EUR CHILD ADOLES PSY
Important associations between emotional dysregulation (ED) and ADHD have been identified in adults, with a key manifestation of this being differential use of emotion regulation strategies: reduced use of cognitive reappraisal (CR), but elevated expressive suppression (ES). These associations have been observed at both behavioral and neuroimaging levels. The present study aims to explore the use of CR and ES in children with ADHD, and their relationship to ED. 148 children with ADHD and 265 healthy controls (age 9–16 years) were recruited and evaluated and correlated their ED, CR, and ES. Resting-state fMRI functional connectivity, with 6 amygdala subregions as regions-of-interest, were analyzed in a subsample to identify potential neural correlates. Children with ADHD showed significant higher ED, and lower use of both CR and ES. A significant negative correlation was found between CR and ED. Mediation analysis indicated that CR has an indirect influence on the relationship between ADHD diagnosis and ED. In the neuroimaging analyses, the functional connectivity between the right superficial amygdala and left middle occipital gyrus showed a significant group-by-ES interaction, highlighting potential neural correlates for elevated ED in children with ADHD. Children with ADHD expressed elevated levels of ED, and used less CR and ES compared to healthy controls. The lower use of ES may relate to abnormal amygdala connectivity in children with ADHD. This finding suggested that brain immaturity in children may preclude effective deployment of ES in emotion regulation processes.
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... [11][12][13][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39] Studies evaluating cognitive emotion regulation among those with ADHD found that these patients used maladaptive strategies such as rumination, self-blame, and catastrophizing significantly more frequently, while adaptive strategies such as reappraisal were rarely used. [42][43][44] The use of maladaptive strategies has been associated with academic-social problems as well as internalizing symptoms used. [42][43][44] Emotion control training may also improve the use of reappraisal among patients with ADHD symptoms. ...
... [42][43][44] The use of maladaptive strategies has been associated with academic-social problems as well as internalizing symptoms used. [42][43][44] Emotion control training may also improve the use of reappraisal among patients with ADHD symptoms. 45 Our results are partially in accordance with those previously reported. ...
Drug Holidays May Attenuate Beneficial Effects of Treatment on Emotion Regulation and Recognition Among Children with ADHD: A Single-Center, Prospective Study
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2024
Background In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of drug holidays during summer vacations on children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treated with methylphenidate in terms of ADHD symptoms and emotion regulation (ER). Methods This single-center, naturalistic, prospective cohort study included pre-, post-, and post-drug holiday evaluations. All patients diagnosed with ADHD and included in our study were administered the Clinical Global Impression Scale, Affective Reactivity Index-parent and child, reading the mind in the eyes test (RMET), Faces test and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children 3 times. Fifty-six patients met the inclusion criteria and ten were lost to follow-up. Thirty-nine participants had complete evaluations at all time points. Results Both parent and self-report ratings of child irritability were significantly reduced after methylphenidate (MPH) treatment (P = .003 and .002, respectively), although they returned to baseline after drug holidays (P = .618 and .974, respectively). The use of self-blame as a cognitive emotion regulation strategy increased significantly after treatment and remained significantly elevated even after drug holidays (P = .024 and .022, respectively). Children used planning as a cognitive strategy significantly more frequently during MPH treatment (P = .034), although this elevation was temporary and returned to baseline levels after the drug holidays (P = .890). Reading the mind in the eyes test performance was significantly improved after MPH treatment and did not change after drug holidays (P = .009 and .006, respectively), while there was a tendency for facial emotion recognition abilities to improve at the last visit (P = .051). Conclusion Our results suggest that MPH treatment improves child- and parent-reported irritability, clinician-rated disorder severity, RMET performance, and the use of planning as a cognitive ER strategy, although only improvement in RMET performance continued after drug holidays. Our results may support the importance of continuing treatment over the holidays for most children with ADHD unless necessitated by adverse events, growth problems, or development of tolerance.
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... et souvent moins utilisée chez les enfants avec TDAH par rapport à ceux sans TDAH(Van Cauwenberge et al., 2017). Ainsi, cette séance doit être maintenue, mais modifiée afin de la rendre plus accessible aux enfants avec TDAH. ...
Dysrégulation émotionnelle chez les enfants et adolescents avec un trouble déficit d'attention/hyperactivité : apports des groupes de thérapies cognitivo-comportementales
Thesis
  • Nov 2021
Le Trouble Déficit d’Attention/Hyperactivité (TDAH) est un trouble neurodéveloppemental s’accompagnant fréquemment d’une dysrégulation émotionnelle venant complexifier le tableau clinique de l’enfant.Ce travail de thèse a pour objectif d’évaluer l’efficacité d’une intervention multimodale de Thérapies Cognitivo-Comportementales (TCC) par rapport à une intervention médiation par le théâtre (MPT) sur la gestion émotionnelle chez l’enfant avec TDAH et dysrégulation émotionnelle.Un premier article consiste en une revue systématique d’études évaluant les effets d’interventions psychologiques chez l’enfant avec TDAH et dysrégulation émotionnelle. Les études montrent des résultats prometteurs avec une réduction des comportements agressifs et des symptômes émotionnels, néanmoins leur faible qualité méthodologique ne permet pas d’en tirer une conclusion générale. Deux articles sont dédiés à l’étude sur l’efficacité d’une intervention multimodale de TCC par rapport à une de MPT sur les comportements agressifs chez l’enfant avec TDAH et dysrégulation émotionnelle. Les résultats montrent que l’intervention de TCC tend à améliorer les comportements agressifs entre l’évaluation initiale et à six mois post-intervention par rapport au groupe MPT sans que cette différence soit significative. Les interventions multimodales de TCC ciblées sur la gestion émotionnelle représentent des traitements thérapeutiques prometteurs et supposent d’autres recherches cliniques. Le dernier article aborde l’intérêt clinique de mesurer les traits et les troubles de la personnalité chez l’enfant et l’adolescent avec TDAH et dysrégulation émotionnelle. Evaluer leur profil de personnalité s’avère pertinent afin de proposer précocement des interventions et prévenir des difficultés futures de fonctionnement.
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... Although the observed correlation was relatively weak, this suggests that ES may also play a role in ADHD. These patterns were also consistent with previous reports in adult ADHD (Shushakova et al., 2018;Materna et al., 2019) and children with ADHD (Van Cauwenberge et al., 2017), though increased ES use in children was not found (Van Cauwenberge et al., 2017). Overall, our finding (comparing with those from children) may suggest that adults with ADHD have acquired some skills to self-regulate over the developmental course, albeit by using the potentially less effective strategy of ES to self-regulate over time. ...
Emotion dysregulation in adults with ADHD: The role of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression
Article
  • Sep 2022
  • J AFFECT DISORDERS
Background Emotion dysregulation (ED) is a common clinical feature of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The present study examined the role of cognitive reappraisal (CR) and expressive suppression (ES) in adults with ADHD. In addition, resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) data were analyzed to identify neural substrates of CR/ES-ED relationships. Methods A total of 309 adults with ADHD and 163 healthy controls were recruited. ED was assessed using the ‘emotional control’ (EC) subscale from Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult Version. The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire was used to measure CR and ES. The functional connectivities (FCs) with the amygdala as Region of Interest, were analyzed in a subsample to explore their association with CR, ES and EC, respectively. Results Higher EC scores (indicative of lesser emotional control), as well as lower CR and higher ES utilization were detected in adults with ADHD compared with healthy controls. CR and ES were both negatively correlated with EC in adults with ADHD. Mediation analysis detected a potential effect of ADHD diagnosis on EC via CR. In addition, a unique significant mediation effect was found between ES-related FC of the right amygdala-prefrontal cortex and ED expression in adults with ADHD, confirming the ‘↑ES → ↓FCs [amygR-PFC] →↓EC’ relationship. Limitations Only self-reported scales and rs-fMRI data were included in these analyses. Conclusions Our findings provide preliminary evidence that in adults with ADHD, less frequent use of CR accounts for ED expression, while more frequent use of ES may play a unique compensatory role in emotion regulation.
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... These results support prior findings showing that individuals with ADHD symptoms demonstrate reappraisal success similar to that of controls 56 and findings showing that these individuals tend to use positive reappraisal in stressful situations 57 , especially when they are instructed to do so 19 . Therefore, these results imply that while individuals with ADHD symptoms may show lower levels of trait reappraisal 11,17,58 , they do use reappraisal when recalling an adverse event, as well as able to use reappraisal effectively to reduce negative mood, even more than typical individuals. The ability of individuals with ADHD symptoms to reappraise is critical as reappraisal has been shown to moderate the relationship between inattention and perceived stress 7 . ...
Emotion control training enhances reappraisal success among individuals with reported ADHD symptoms
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2022
Previous research indicates that training individuals to recruit cognitive control before exposure to negative pictures can facilitate the propensity to use reappraisal and reappraisal success. Individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience difficulties in cognitive control and emotion regulation, so they may especially benefit from such training. Individuals reporting high ADHD symptoms and controls were randomly assigned to one of two training conditions. In the high emotion control (H-EC) training condition, negative pictures were typically preceded by a stimulus that recruits cognitive control. In contrast, in the low emotion control (L-EC) training condition, negative pictures were typically preceded by a stimulus that does not recruit cognitive control. Participants were then asked to recall an adverse personal event and to reappraise the event. As predicted, instructed reappraisal was more effective in reducing negative mood in the H-EC training compared to the L-EC training. Furthermore, compared to controls, individuals with reported ADHD symptoms showed a greater propensity to use reappraisal after writing the event and a more considerable reduction in event significance and negativity following the instructed reappraisal assignment. We argue that employing cognitive control over emotional information has a causal role in reappraisal use and success among individuals with ADHD symptoms.
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... ndings showing that these individuals tend to use positive reappraisal in stressful situations (Young, 2005), especially when they are instructed to do so (Young & Bramham, 2006). Therefore, these results imply that while individuals with ADHD symptoms may show lower levels of trait reappraisal (Bodalski et al., 2019;Shushakova et al., 2018;Van Cauwenberge et al., 2017), they do use reappraisal when recalling an adverse event, as well as able to use reappraisal effectively to reduce negative mood, even more than typical individuals. The ability of individuals with ADHD symptoms to reappraise is critical as reappraisal has been shown to moderate the relationship between inattention and perceived stress (Shahane et al., 2019). ...
Emotion Control Training Enhances Reappraisal Success Among Individuals With Reported ADHD Symptoms
Preprint
Full-text available
  • Mar 2022
Previous research indicates that training individuals to recruit cognitive control before exposure to negative pictures can facilitate the propensity to use reappraisal and reappraisal success. Individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience difficulties in cognitive control and emotion regulation, so they may especially benefit from such training. Individuals reporting high ADHD symptoms and controls were randomly assigned to one of two training conditions. In the high emotion control (H-EC) training condition, negative pictures were typically preceded by a stimulus that recruits cognitive control. In contrast, in the low emotion control (L-EC) training condition, negative pictures were typically preceded by a stimulus that does not recruit cognitive control. Participants were then asked to recall an adverse personal event and to reappraise the event. As predicted, instructed reappraisal was more effective in reducing negative mood in the H-EC training compared to the L-EC training. Furthermore, compared to controls, individuals with reported ADHD symptoms showed a greater propensity to use reappraisal after writing the event and a more considerable reduction in event significance and negativity following the instructed reappraisal assignment. We argue that employing cognitive control over emotional information has a causal role in reappraisal use and success among individuals with ADHD symptoms.
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... Cognitive Reappraisal is generally categorized as an adaptive ER strategy and refers to the way in which a positive perspective or reinterpretation of the situation can decrease negative affect and/or increase positive affect (McRae et al., 2012;Van Cauwenberge et al., 2017). In general, cognitive reappraisal has been linked to the fourth phase of the ER process (i.e., cognitive change). ...
Are Emotion Regulation Strategies Associated With Visual Attentional Breadth for Emotional Information in Youth?
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2021
Attentional deployment is currently considered as one of the most central mechanisms in emotion regulation (ER) as it is assumed to be a crucial first step in the selection of emotional information. According to the broaden-and-build theory, positive emotions are associated with attentional broadening and negative emotions with attentional narrowing toward emotional information. Given that ER strategies relying on attentional deployment (i.e., rumination, cognitive reappraisal and distraction) have the possibility to influence positive and negative emotions by (re)directing one’s attention, there could be an association with one’s attentional scope. The current study investigated the association between the general (trait) use of three specific ER strategies and visual attentional breadth for positive, negative, and neutral information in a selected sample of 56 adolescents (M = 12.54, SD = 1.72; 49% girls) at risk for developing psychopathology. First, participants self-reported on their overall use of different ER strategies. Next, the previously validated Attentional Breadth Task (ABT) was used to measure visual attention breadth toward emotional information. No evidence was found for the relationship between 2 specific ER strategies (i.e., cognitive reappraisal and rumination) and visual attentional breadth for neutral, positive and negative emotional information. Surprisingly, “distraction” was associated with visual attentional narrowing, which was unrelated to the valence of the emotion. These unexpected results indicate the multifaceted relationship between trait ER, distraction specifically, and visual attentional breadth for emotional information. Future research, especially in younger age groups, could further elaborate on this research domain.
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Autonomic Nervous System Functioning in ADHD
Chapter
  • Nov 2023
In this chapter, we introduce the autonomic nervous system (ANS), discuss the mechanisms underlying arousal regulation in humans, and present theoretical frameworks suggesting that altered autonomic functioning is likely to contribute to behavioral, cognitive, and emotional difficulties experienced by people with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The reviewed evidence in this chapter suggests that autonomic hypofunctioning and difficulties in regulating arousal according to situational demands may cause inattention, restlessness, reduced vigilance and cognitive difficulties (especially during monotonous and unrewarding activities), and emotional dysregulation and irritability in people with ADHD. Although the chapter is specifically focused on ADHD, we also provide the reader with an overview of the literature investigating autonomic dysfunction in psychiatric or psychological conditions that often co-occur with ADHD, including oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder, mood disorder, and autism spectrum disorder. We discuss the effects of pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions for ADHD on autonomic functioning, and we propose that ADHD medication and some nonpharmacological interventions may be effective in reducing inattention and hyperactivity, and improving global functioning in people with ADHD, because they normalize activity of the ANS and improve arousal regulation. The concluding sections include a brief discussion about the possible implications of the findings presented in this chapter for clinical and research practice. Specifically, we stress the importance of clarifying, in future research, the role of altered autonomic functioning in ADHD, which could prove helpful for developing more efficient and valid assessment and intervention tools for people with this neurodevelopmental condition.
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Generalization of reappraisal to novel negative stimuli as evidenced by the LPP
Article
  • Apr 2022
  • INT J PSYCHOPHYSIOL
Cognitive reappraisal is a well-studied emotion regulation technique that involves changing the meaning of stimuli. To be useful in everyday life, reappraisal's effects would ideally generalize from previously reappraised stimuli to novel, but similar stimuli, saving individuals from needing to generate novel interpretations for similar stimuli. Here, 41 participants were asked to use reappraisal to down-regulate their response to negative pictures from one category (e.g., snakes), and to view negative pictures from another category (e.g., guns) as well as neutral pictures (e.g., plants). In a subsequent task, participants passively viewed novel pictures from all three categories (e.g., snakes, guns, and plants). EEG and subjective ratings of valence and arousal were collected in both tasks. In the reappraisal task, we did not find an effect of reappraisal on the LPP or arousal ratings, but reappraisal reduced ratings of picture unpleasantness. In the second task, negative pictures from the previously reappraised category elicited smaller LPPs than negative pictures from the previously viewed category, though there was no evidence that reappraisal generalized to subjective ratings of pictures. Therefore, at the electrocortical level, cognitive reappraisal may generalize to similar but novel stimuli encountered outside of the reappraisal context. Moreover, meaning change might be more effective in modulating electrocortical response following a delay and in the absence of deliberate attempts to down-regulate emotional response. Nonetheless, reappraisal's effects appear to differ across levels of affective response when similar stimuli are encountered in the absence of willful attempts at reappraisal.
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The Late Positive Potential as a Neural Signature for Cognitive Reappraisal in Children
Article
Full-text available
  • Oct 2014
The late positive potential (LPP), which is reduced following the use of reappraisal, is a potential neurosignature for emotion regulation capacity. This sensitivity of the LPP to reappraisal is rarely studied in children. We tested whether, in 26 typically developing seven- to nine-year-olds, LPP amplitudes were reduced following reappraisal and whether this effect varied with age and anxiety. For the full sample, LPPs were not significantly reduced following reappraisal. As predicted, reductions in the LPP following reappraisal were greater for older children and those showing less anxiety. The utility of the LPP as a neurosignature for emotion regulatory capacity is discussed.
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Emotion Dysregulation in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2014
  • AM J PSYCHIAT
Although it has long been recognized that many individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also have difficulties with emotion regulation, no consensus has been reached on how to conceptualize this clinically challenging domain. The authors examine the current literature using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Three key findings emerge. First, emotion dysregulation is prevalent in ADHD throughout the lifespan and is a major contributor to impairment. Second, emotion dysregulation in ADHD may arise from deficits in orienting toward, recognizing, and/or allocating attention to emotional stimuli; these deficits implicate dysfunction within a striato-amygdalo-medial prefrontal cortical network. Third, while current treatments for ADHD often also ameliorate emotion dysregulation, a focus on this combination of symptoms reframes clinical questions and could stimulate novel therapeutic approaches. The authors then consider three models to explain the overlap between emotion dysregulation and ADHD: emotion dysregulation and ADHD are correlated but distinct dimensions; emotion dysregulation is a core diagnostic feature of ADHD; and the combination constitutes a nosological entity distinct from both ADHD and emotion dysregulation alone. The differing predictions from each model can guide research on the much-neglected population of patients with ADHD and emotion dysregulation.
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Emotional lability in children and adolescents with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): Clinical correlates and familial prevalence
Article
Full-text available
The goal of this study was to investigate the occurrence, severity and clinical correlates of emotional lability (EL) in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and to examine factors contributing to EL and familiality of EL in youth with ADHD. Methods: One thousand, one hundred and eighty-six children with ADHD combined type and 1827 siblings (aged 6-18 years) were assessed for symptoms of EL, ADHD, associated psychopathology and comorbid psychiatric disorders with a structured diagnostic interview (PACS) as well as parent and teacher ratings of psychopathology (SDQ; CPRS-R:L; CTRS-R:L). Analyses of variance, regression analyses, chi 2-tests or loglinear models were applied. Results: Mean age and gender-standardized ratings of EL in children with ADHD were > 1.5 SD above the mean in normative samples. Severe EL (> 75th percentile) was associated with more severe ADHD core symptoms, primarily hyperactive-impulsive symptoms, and more comorbid oppositional defiant, affective and substance use disorders. Age, hyperactive-impulsive, oppositional, and emotional symptoms accounted for 30% of EL variance; hyperactive-impulsive symptoms did not account for EL variance when coexisting oppositional and emotional problems were taken into account, but oppositional symptoms explained 12% of EL variance specifically. Severity of EL in probands increased the severity of EL in siblings, but not the prevalence rates of ADHD or ODD. EL and ADHD does not co-segregate within families. Conclusion: EL is a frequent clinical problem in children with ADHD. It is associated with increased severity of ADHD core symptoms, particularly hyperactivity-impulsivity, and more symptoms of comorbid psychopathology, primarily symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), but also affective symptoms, and substance abuse. EL in ADHD seems to be more closely related to ODD than to ADHD core symptoms, and is only partly explainable by the severity of ADHD core symptoms and associated psychopathology. Although EL symptoms are transmitted within families, EL in children with ADHD does not increase the risk of ADHD and ODD in their siblings.
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The normative development of emotion regulation strategy use in children and adolescents: A 2-year follow-up study
Article
Full-text available
Emotion regulation involves intrinsic and extrinsic processes responsible for managing one's emotions toward goal accomplishment. Research on emotion regulation has predominantly focused on early developmental periods and the majority of emotion regulation research examining the pre-adult years has lacked a comprehensive theoretical framework. The current study examined the use of two strategies of emotion regulation during childhood and adolescents, as conceptualised within Gross's (1998) process-oriented model. To determine the use, norms and development of the Expressive Suppression and Cognitive Reappraisal strategies, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ-CA) was administered to 1,128 participants aged between 9 and 15 years. Three data collection phases, each one year apart, enabled investigation of developmental patterns in the use of the two strategies. As predicted, Suppression use was found to be lower for older participants compared to their younger peers, and over time participants reported less use of this strategy. Older participants also scored lower on Reappraisal but stability over time was found. Also as expected, males reported more Suppression use compared to females. By documenting the development and norms for Cognitive Reappraisal and Expressive Suppression in a community sample of children and adolescents, the current study makes a significant contribution to our understanding of these two ER strategies during these developmental periods.
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Emotion Regulation: Current Status and Future Prospects
Article
  • Mar 2015
One of the fastest growing areas within psychology is the field of emotion regulation. However, enthusiasm for this topic continues to outstrip conceptual clarity, and there remains considerable uncertainty as to what is even meant by “emotion regulation.” The goal of this review is to examine the current status and future prospects of this rapidly growing field. In the first section, I define emotion and emotion regulation and distinguish both from related constructs. In the second section, I use the process model of emotion regulation to selectively review evidence that different regulation strategies have different consequences. In the third section, I introduce the extended process model of emotion regulation; this model considers emotion regulation to be one type of valuation, and distinguishes three emotion regulation stages (identification, selection, implementation). In the final section, I consider five key growth points for the field of emotion regulation.
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The Late Positive Potential Predicts Emotion Regulation Strategy Use in School-Aged Children Concurrently and Two Years Later
Article
  • Nov 2014
  • DEVELOPMENTAL SCI
The ability to use cognitive emotion regulation strategies such as reappraisal may be a core component of emotional competence across development, but due to methodological challenges in measuring such strategies, they are rarely studied in young children. One neurophysiological measure, the late positive potential (LPP), has been examined in response to reappraisal as a potential neurosignature for emotion regulatory capacity in adults. The association between the LPP and emotion regulatory capacity in children is unknown. The present study examined whether the LPP during reappraisal could predict greater observed adaptive emotion regulation strategy use in school-aged children over a two-year period. Thirty-two 5- to 7-year-olds participated in two identical lab visits spaced two years apart. EEG was continuously recorded during a computerized reappraisal task in which children viewed unpleasant images paired with either reappraisal or negative stories. Next they completed a disappointing and a frustrating task during which emotion regulation strategies were observed. As predicted, children who showed reappraisal-induced reductions in the LPP at the first assessment used significantly more adaptive ER strategies concurrently and two years later. These findings provide observation-based evidence that the LPP may be a viable neurosignature for emotion regulatory capacity in children.
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Electrocortical reactivity to emotional images and faces in middle childhood to early adolescence
Article
  • Apr 2012
The late positive potential (LPP) is an event-related potential (ERP) component that indexes sustained attention toward motivationally salient information. The LPP has been observed in children and adults, however little is known about its development from childhood into adolescence. In addition, whereas LPP studies examine responses to images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS; Lang et al., 2008) or emotional faces, no previous studies have compared responses in youth across stimuli. To examine how emotion interacts with attention across development, the current study used an emotional-interrupt task to measure LPP and behavioral responses in 8- to 13-year-olds using unpleasant, pleasant, and neutral IAPS images, as well as sad, happy, and neutral faces. Compared to older youth, younger children exhibited enhanced LPPs over occipital sites. In addition, sad but not happy faces elicited a larger LPP than neutral faces; behavioral measures did not vary across facial expressions. Both unpleasant and pleasant IAPS images were associated with increased LPPs and behavioral interference compared to neutral images. Results suggest that there may be developmental differences in the scalp distribution of the LPP, and compared to faces, IAPS elicit more robust behavioral and electrocortical measures of attention to emotional stimuli.
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Brain Potentials During Affective Picture Processing in Children
Article
  • Mar 2009
  • BIOL PSYCHOL
In adults, emotional (e.g., both unpleasant and pleasant) compared to neutral pictures elicit an increase in the early posterior negativity (EPN) and the late positive potential (LPP); modulation of these ERP components are thought to reflect the facilitated processing of, and increased attention to, motivationally salient stimuli. To determine whether the EPN and LPP are sensitive to emotional content in children, high-density EEG was recorded from 18 children who were 5–8 years of age (mean age = 77 months, SD = 11 months) while they viewed developmentally appropriate pictures selected from the International Affective Picture System. Self-reported ratings of valence and arousal were also obtained. An EPN was not evident following emotional compared to neutral pictures; however, a positivity maximal at occipital–parietal recording sites was increased from 500 to 1000 ms following pleasant pictures and from 500 to 1500 ms following unpleasant pictures. Comparisons between the EPN and LPP observed in children and adults, and implications for developmental studies of emotion, are discussed.
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Electrocortical reactivity to emotional faces in young children and associations with maternal and paternal depression
Article
The late positive potential (LPP) is an event-related potential component that indexes selective attention toward motivationally salient information and is sensitive to emotional stimuli. Few studies have examined the LPP in children. Depression has been associated with reduced reactivity to negative and positive emotional stimuli, including reduced LPPs in response to emotional faces. The current study sought to identify the time course and scalp distribution of the LPP in response to emotional faces in young children and to determine whether reduced reactivity is observed among children at risk for depression. Electrocortical reactivity to emotional faces was examined in a large sample of young children and as a function of maternal and paternal depression. In the overall sample, emotional faces were associated with increased positivities compared to neutral faces at occipital sites 200-600 ms after stimulus onset and at parietal sites 600-1,000 ms after stimulus onset. Children of mothers with a history of depressive disorders exhibited reduced differentiation in the early occipital LPP for emotional compared to neutral faces. Results suggest that children as young as 6 years exhibit LPPs to emotional faces, and patterns of electrocortical reactivity to emotional stimuli may be associated with vulnerability to depressive disorders.
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Event-Related Potentials, Emotion, and Emotion Regulation: An Integrative Review
Article
  • Feb 2010
  • DEV NEUROPSYCHOL
Progress in the study of emotion and emotion regulation has increasingly been informed by neuroscientific methods. This article focuses on two components of the event-related potential (ERP)--the P300 and the late positive potential (LPP)--and how they can be used to understand the interaction between the more automatic and controlled processing of emotional stimuli. Research is reviewed exploring: the dynamics of emotional response as indexed at early and late latencies; neurobiological correlates of emotional response; individual and developmental differences; ways in which the LPP can be utilized as a measure of emotion regulation. Future directions for the application of ERP/electroencephalogram (EEG) in achieving a more complete understanding of emotional processing and its regulation are presented.
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