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Emotion Regulation as a Transdiagnostic Feature in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders

  • Comorbidities (D Dewey, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Emotion regulation is recognized as a core underlying dimension common across psychiatric disorders and could be conceptualized as a transdiagnostic feature (i.e., mechanism underlying comorbidity). This review highlights recent research examining emotion regulation in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Recent Findings

Difficulties with emotion regulation are increasingly recognized as common deficits in children with ADHD and ASD. Research indicates that emotion regulation transmits risk for co-occurring disorders within a diagnostic grouping (i.e., neurodevelopment disorders; homotypic comorbidity) and across different diagnostic groupings (i.e., neurodevelopmental disorder–mood disorder; heterotypic comorbidity) in children with ADHD and ASD.

Summary

While this review provides support for the conceptualization of emotion regulation as a transdiagnostic feature in ADHD and ASD, further research examining emotion regulation in children with other neurodevelopmental disorders is needed. The field of neurodevelopmental disorders should examine emotion regulation from a developmental perspective and needs to develop valid assessments of emotion regulation.

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Acknowledgements

G. England-Mason is supported by an Alberta Innovates Postgraduate Fellowship in Health Innovation and an Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship.

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  1. Department of Pediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

    Gillian England-Mason

  2. Owerko Centre, Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

    Gillian England-Mason

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England-Mason, G. Emotion Regulation as a Transdiagnostic Feature in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Curr Dev Disord Rep 7, 130–138 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40474-020-00200-2

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