Emotion dysregulation in adult ADHD: Introducing the Comprehensive Emotion Regulation Inventory (CERI)

Figures & data

Table 1. Descriptive data for sex, age, and comorbid disorders for the individuals with ADHD and the comparison group.

	ADHD (n = 130)	Comparison group (n = 260)
Sex, n (%) males	45 (33.1)	80 (30.8)
Age, mean (SD)	33.11 (9.93)	37.30 (7.77)
Education
9 years of schooling or less	21 (16.3)	3 (1.2)
High school	64 (49.6)	43 (16.6)
University/college degree	44 (34.1)	213 (82.2)
ADHD presentation
Combined presentation, n (%)	109 (85.4)	–
Inattentive presentation, n (%)	19 (15.4)	–
Comorbid disorders (%)
Autism Spectrum Disorder	3.1	0
Depression/Anxiety Disorders	17.0	0
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder	1.5	0
Phobias	1.5	0
Eating Disorders	3.1	0
Borderline Personality Disorder	1.5	0
Bipolar disorders	2.3	0

Table 2. Description of the different sections included in the CERI.

Name	# items	Example item
Emotional reactivity	4	“I often feel angry/sad/scared/excited”
Situation selection	5	“I avoid situations that could make me angry”
Modification	5	When I get scared, I change the situation to calm myself down”
Attentional deployment	5	“When I get sad, I think of something else to calm myself down”.
Reappraisal	5	“When I get too excited, I re-evaluate the situation to calm myself down”.
Suppression	5	“When I get angry, I keep it to myself”
Implementation	7	“I find it difficult to regulate my emotions by thinking of something else”.
Negative Impact	6	“My difficulties with regulating emotions pose a problem in my daily life”.

Table 3. Results of the factor analysis for the CERI. Factor loadings smaller than .30 are not displayed in the table.

		Factor
A priori scale	Item description	1	2	3	4	5
E	When I get sad, I reassess the situation to calm myself down	.90
E	When I get upset, I reassess the situation to calm myself down	.75
E	When I get scared, I reassess the situation to calm myself down	.74
E	When I get angry, I reassess the situation to calm myself down	.72
E	When I get too excited, I reassess the situation to calm myself down	.57
B	I choose to avoid situations that may make me angry		.90
B	I choose to avoid situations that may upset me		.86
B	I choose to avoid situations that may make me sad		.60
B	I choose to avoid situations that may make me scared		.55
B	I choose to avoid situations that may make me too excited		.41
C	When I get angry, I change the situation to calm myself down			.93
C	When I get upset, I change the situation to calm myself down			.90
C	When I get scared, I change the situation to calm myself down			.61
C	When I get scared, I think about something else to calm myself down			.58
C	When I become too excited, I change the situation to calm myself down			.42
F	I keep my negative emotions to myself	.			.73
F	When I get angry, I keep it to myself				.65
F	When I get sad, I keep it to myself				.60
F	When I get scared, I keep it to myself				.53
D	When I get upset, I think about something else to calm myself down					.83
D	When I get angry, I think about something else to calm myself down					.72
D	When I get scared, I think about something else to calm myself down					.54
D	When I become too excited, I think about something else to calm myself down					.52
D	When I get sad, I think about something else to calm myself down					.46
	Explained variance	27.28	11.20	5.79	5.25	4.39

B = Situation selection; C = Modification; D = Attentional deployment; E = Reappraisal; F = Suppression.

Table 4. Means (M), standard deviations (SD), results of ANCOVAs, and effect sizes (d) comparing individuals with ADHD and the comparison group on all CERI subscales.

	ADHD M (SD) (n = 130)	Comparison group M (SD) (n = 260)	Group F	d	Effect sizes5% CI
Selection	3.01 (.82)	2.54 (.83)	21.16***	.57	.35 –.78
Modification	2.72 (.89)	3.06 (.92)	8.90*	.37	.16 –.58
Attention	2.37 (.90)	2.92 (.83)	35.19***	.64	.43 –.86
Reappraisal	2.48 (.98)	3.04 (.82)	32.86***	.64	.42 –.85
Suppression	2.87 (1.01)	2.86 (.77)	0.01	.01	−. 20 −.20
Happiness/excitement	1.88 (.98)	2.30 (.96)	21.16***	.43	.22 –.65
Problems with implementation	3.31 (.89)	2.25 (.76)	127.57***	1.31	1.08–1.54
Negative impact on daily life	2.75 (.92)	1.49 (.67)	203.66***	1.66	1.42–1.90
Reactivity
Anger	3.30 (1.16)	2.71 (.90)	26.57***	.60	.39 –.82
Fear	2.43 (1.24)	2.28 (1.16)	0.44	.13	−.08 –.34
Sadness	3.47 (1.10)	2.63 (.90)	48.06***	.87	.65–1.09
Happiness	3.58 (1.07)	3.32 (.96)	12.06***	.26	.05 –.47

*p < .05, *** p < .00.