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Updated: May 6, 2026

Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
Published on: February 11, 2017
Irritability in children and adolescents: past concepts, current debates, and future opportunities
Fernanda Valle Krieger1, Ellen Leibenluft, Argyris Stringaris
1Universidade de São Paulo, Department of Psychiatry, São PauloSP, Brazil.
Abstract:
Irritability is defined as a low threshold to experience anger in response to frustration. It is one of the most common symptoms in youth and is part of the clinical presentation of several disorders. Irritability can present early in life and is a predictor of long-term psychopathology; yet, the diagnostic status of irritability is a matter of intense debate. In the present article, we address two main components of the debate regarding irritability in youth: the misdiagnosis of chronic irritability as pediatric bipolar disorder, and the proposal of a new diagnosis in the DSM-5, disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, whose defining symptoms are chronic irritability and temper outbursts.
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