

In particular, adolescents with ADHD exhibit intense displays of negative and positive emotions, stronger reactions to frustration or stress, and more rapid and drastic changes between emotions. Relative to adolescents who do not have ADHD, adolescents with ADHD have significant difficulty managing positive and negative emotions. Growing recognition of emotion regulation difficulties in ADHD As a result, parents, teachers, and peers often view these teenagers as immature and rambunctious. They may yell, jump up and down, and invade others’ personal space when they find out good news. Specifically, when happy or excited, adolescents with ADHD often display age-inappropriate levels of enthusiasm or exuberance. This is especially true for adolescents with ADHD, who Russell Barkley describes as having a “low frustration tolerance, impatience, quickness to anger.”Īlthough teens with ADHD have significant difficulty managing negative emotions, many also have difficulty managing positive emotions. Managing emotions is particularly challenging for adolescents, who often experience high levels of conflict with parents and peers. Emotion regulation is essential for social and emotional well-being.

Emotion regulation is a term generally used to describe a person’s ability to manage and respond to an emotional experience in an adaptive way. For some people, these emotions-particularly negative emotions like anger, frustration, sadness, and guilt-can be overwhelming. Everyone EXPERIENCES A MIXTURE of positive and negative emotions daily.
