Tantrums in children may be linked to ADHD

Preschoolers who struggle to control their emotions and behavior are more likely to have symptoms of ADHD by age seven, a study suggests.

Children between the ages of three and seven who were slower to acquire skills to manage their intense emotions were also at risk of exhibiting more behavioral problems. They were also more likely to exhibit internalizing behaviors, such as sadness and worry, at age seven, experts say.

The study, led by the University of Edinburgh, is one of the first to investigate the links between early patterns of emotion regulation and the mental health of school-aged children. The study is published in the news Development and psychopathology.

The findings could help provide targeted support to children who could benefit from improved preventive care before mental health problems arise, researchers say.

Researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh, Northumbria and Oxford analyzed a large data set to test whether the progression of emotional development in children aged three to seven is linked to the risk of common mental health problems.

Children's mental health

They examined data from the British Millennium Cohort Study, which follows the lives of around 19,000 young people born between 2000 and 2002.

The researchers analyzed questionnaires and interviews in which parents were asked about their children's behavior, social behavior and emotional regulation skills.

They used statistical techniques to measure the association between emotional problems, behavioral problems and ADHD symptoms at age seven.

Findings showed that a tendency toward extreme emotional reactions and slower development in the ability to regulate those emotions was significantly associated with ADHD symptoms, internalizing symptoms, and conduct problems in both male and female children at age seven.

This was the case even when other factors were taken into account, such as evidence of pre-existing neurodevelopmental and mental health problems.

“Emotion regulation skills are acquired early in life and are thought to gradually become stronger over childhood. However, children acquire these skills at different rates and slower acquisition can serve as a marker for neurodevelopmental and mental health problems. Our findings suggest that monitoring pathways of emotion regulation across development could help identify which children are at risk for mental health problems,” says Dr. Aja Murray, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences.

Provided by the University of Edinburgh