Some adults with attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also experience excessive emotional reactions to everyday situations, a combination that appears to run in families.
People with ADHD generally have more difficulty paying attention and controlling their impulses than those without it; many also display high levels of anger, frustration and impatience in response to minor disappointments and inconveniences - responses that may be symptoms of deficient emotional self-regulation (DESR). An estimated 4 percent of the adult population has ADHD and more than half of those with ADHD may also have DESR.
Previous research has shown that people with ADHD and DESR have a lower quality of life and difficulties with personal relationships and social success.
Researchers studied 83 Americans - 23 with ADHD alone, 27 with ADHD plus DESR, 33 with neither condition - plus their siblings.
It was found that the siblings of people with both ADHD and DESR were much more likely to have both conditions than those with ADHD alone. The study offers strong evidence that heritable factors influence how we control our emotions.
The ability to pay attention or control physical movement - is probably under brain control that we are just beginning to understand. The findings also show that ADHD doesn't just impact things like reading, listening and getting the bills paid on time; it can also impact how people regulate themselves more broadly, including their emotional expression.
People with ADHD generally have more difficulty paying attention and controlling their impulses than those without it; many also display high levels of anger, frustration and impatience in response to minor disappointments and inconveniences - responses that may be symptoms of deficient emotional self-regulation (DESR). An estimated 4 percent of the adult population has ADHD and more than half of those with ADHD may also have DESR.
Previous research has shown that people with ADHD and DESR have a lower quality of life and difficulties with personal relationships and social success.
Researchers studied 83 Americans - 23 with ADHD alone, 27 with ADHD plus DESR, 33 with neither condition - plus their siblings.
It was found that the siblings of people with both ADHD and DESR were much more likely to have both conditions than those with ADHD alone. The study offers strong evidence that heritable factors influence how we control our emotions.
The ability to pay attention or control physical movement - is probably under brain control that we are just beginning to understand. The findings also show that ADHD doesn't just impact things like reading, listening and getting the bills paid on time; it can also impact how people regulate themselves more broadly, including their emotional expression.