Behavioural inhibition and emotion regulation among boys with ADHD during a go-/nogo-task

Current literature suggests an executive and/or motivational deficit to explain the deficit in behavioural inhibition of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, results of neuropsychological and psycho-physiological studies are inconsistent (Nigg 2001). Although in his earlier work in 1997 Barkley postulated an association between behavioural inhibition and emotion regulation, this subject has been widely neglected so far. First studies suggest an impaired emotion regulation of children with ADHD (e. g. Braaten a. Rosen 2000). The present study was aimed to scrutinize the results of experimental studies on an executive and/or motivational deficit in response inhibition and impairments in emotion regulation with a newly developed go-/nogo-task. A three factorial design (group x age x condition) with repeated measurements on the last factor was used to examine differences between 19 boys with ADHD and 19 male normal controls of two age groups (8-10 years old and 11-12 years old). A go-/nogo-task modified from the Testbattery for Attentional Performance (Zimmermann a. Fimm 1994) with five conditions was administered: neutral, feedback, reward only, response cost only, reward, and response cost. Apart from performance (commissions, omissions, reaction time, and its variability) emotional well-being and coping were recorded. Boys with ADHD showed a deficit in behavioural inhibition as well as reduced attention independent of condition. Young children with ADHD showed a higher reaction time variability than older ADHD-children. Additionally, all boys with ADHD reported increased challenge and more rumination but also enhanced situation control. Finally, response inhibition of all children was improved by feedback. First hints were given that especially the emotion regulation of the younger ADHD children seemed to be impaired. Thus, the study contributes to the fundamental discussion on an executive or motivational deficit in behavioural inhibition. But the results also draw attention to the importance of emotion regulation for the development of effective treatments of ADHD.