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Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
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Published on: February 11, 2017

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Sleep problems in relation to emotion dysregulation in children with ADHD

Lin Sørensen1, Camille Hjo1, Stephen P Becker2

  • 1Department of Clinical and Biological Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway.

Sleep Medicine
|December 23, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience sleep disturbances linked to emotion dysregulation (EDR). This study found sleep issues particularly associated with positive emotion lability in ADHD, broadening the understanding of EDR in these children.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Sleep Medicine

Background:

  • Sleep disturbances are common in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
  • Emotion dysregulation (EDR) is a core feature of ADHD, often manifesting as emotion lability.
  • The specific relationship between sleep problems and EDR in ADHD, especially concerning positive affect, is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between sleep disturbances and a four-factor model of EDR in children with ADHD.
  • To determine if sleep disturbances are more strongly linked to emotion lability (positive or negative) or socially inappropriate/incongruent affect.
  • To expand the understanding of EDR beyond negative emotion lability in ADHD.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a sample of 139 children aged 8-12 years diagnosed with ADHD.
  • Caregivers completed the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire and the Emotion Regulation Checklist.
  • Employed multiple linear regression analyses to examine relationships between sleep disturbances and EDR factors.

Main Results:

  • Sleep disturbances were significantly associated with emotion lability in children with ADHD.
  • The association was particularly strong with positive emotion lability, challenging the focus solely on negative affect.
  • Sleep problems showed weaker associations with socially inappropriate and socially incongruent affect.

Conclusions:

  • Sleep disturbances in children with ADHD are closely linked to emotion lability, especially concerning positive affect.
  • Findings highlight the importance of addressing sleep issues to manage EDR in ADHD.
  • This research broadens the scope of EDR in ADHD to include positive emotion lability alongside negative emotion lability.

Keywords:
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorderEmotion dysregulationEmotion labilityParasomniasSleep disturbanceSocially incongruent affect

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