Parent Profiles as Predictors of Emotion Dysregulation in Adolescence: Comparing Youth With and Without ADHD

Parents and caregivers substantially contribute to youth emotional development. Emotion dysregulation is a significant, pervasive concern for youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, with adolescence being a salient but understudied developmental period. Several parent-related factors have shown to independently predict youth Emotion dysregulation. However, it is unclear whether there are underlying patterns of co-occurring parent-related factors that relate to emotion dysregulation in adolescents. This study examined potential latent profiles of parent factors and whether parent profiles (1) differed among parents of adolescents are diagnosed with or without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and (2) were associated with adolescent emotion dysregulation outcomes.

The study sample included 266 adolescents (54.1% male; 81.6% White; 51.1% comprehensively diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder).

Three distinct parent profiles emerged: Low Internalizing/Emotion dysregulation and High Authoritative Parenting (62.5% of sample), Moderate Internalizing/Emotion dysregulation and Permissive Parenting (10.9% of sample), and High Internalizing/Emotion dysregulation and Moderate Authoritative Parenting (26.6% of sample). Results indicated that parents of adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are more likely to be in the High Internalizing/Emotion dysregulation and Moderate Authoritative Parenting profile. Profiles characterized by authoritative parenting practices were generally associated with less emotion dysregulation, though no significant differences in self-reported adolescent emotion dysregulation were observed across profiles.

These findings underscore the potential for parent psychopathology, emotion dysregulation, and parenting practices to serve as targets for interventions aimed at reducing emotion dysregulation, particularly in neurodiverse populations.