Temperament in Adulthood Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder without Bipolar Disorder

Influence of temperament and emotional dysregulation on depressive symptoms in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A structural equation modelling analysis

OBJECTIVE

Depressive symptoms in adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are common. Clinical evidence suggests that affective temperaments and emotional dysregulation are reasonable putative explanatory factors of this association. In this study, we thus investigated the role of these features in influencing concomitant depressive symptoms in adults with ADHD.

METHODS

Outpatients with ADHD were consecutively enrolled. Depressive symptoms were measured by the Symptom Checklist-90 Revised (SCL-90-R), while the Temperament Evaluation Memphis for Pisa, Paris, and San Diego-Autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A) was used to assess the affective temperament dimensions. We tested emotional dysregulation using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). Structural equation modeling was performed to test the interplay between temperament, emotional dysregulation, and depressive symptoms, accounting for other clinical variables that showed an association with depressive symptoms at univariate level.

RESULTS

A total of 164 individuals with ADHD (mean age of 29.8 ± 10.7 years), of which 61 (37.2%) women, were recruited. Data showed that, accounting for the possible influence of psychopharmacological treatment and ADHD severity, both emotional dysregulation (p < 0.001) and dysthymic temperament (p = 0.003), though not other affective temperament dimensions, might influence depressive symptoms in people with ADHD.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite some limitations, our study emphasizes the role of dysthymic temperament and emotional dysregulation in contributing to levels of depressive symptoms among individuals with ADHD. A comprehensive temperament assessment in adults with ADHD can offer valuable insights for developing tailored treatment strategies and enhancing overall patient care.

Does Temperament Constitute a Risk Factor for Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine the temperament characteristics of adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the relationship between ADHD subtypes and temperament. Additionally, the study aimed to investigate the relationship between childhood ADHD symptoms and temperament.

METHODS

The study included 59 ADHD patients aged between 18 and 60 years and 44 healthy controls. All participants completed the Wender-Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and the Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Diagnosis and Rating Scale. Temperament characteristics were assessed using the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego-Autoquestionnaire scale (TEMPS-A).

RESULTS

The ADHD group had significantly higher scores for cyclothymic, irritable, and anxious temperament compared to the control group (p<0.001). The number of individuals with cyclothymic, irritable, and anxious temperament was also significantly higher in the ADHD group (p=0.007, p=0.018, p=0.029, respectively). Positive correlations were found between cyclothymic and depressive temperament scores and WURS scores (r=0.278, p=0.033; r=0.326, p=0.012, respectively), between hyperthymic temperament scores and hyperactivity scores (r=0.399, p=0.002), and between depressive temperament scores and attention deficit scores (r=0.303, p=0.020). There was no relationship between ADHD subtypes and dominant temperament (p>0.05).

CONCLUSION

The most common dominant temperament in the ADHD group was cyclothymic, irritable, and anxious. The positive correlation between WURS scores and cyclothymic temperament suggests that cyclothymic temperament may be a risk factor for adult ADHD.

Substance use disorders in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: The role of affective temperament

OBJECTIVE

Substance Use Disorders (SUD) are common in adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Although predictors of SUD in this population are relevant for prevention and treatment, they need further clarification. Affective temperaments potentially associated with SUD in adult ADHD patients were explored.

METHODS

ADHD patients with and without SUD were compared for sociodemographic, clinical, and psychological characteristics through: Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale; Wender Utah Rating Scale; Temperament Evaluation Memphis for Pisa, Paris, and San Diego-Autoquestionnaire. Logistic regression investigated factors associated with SUD.

RESULTS

We included one-hundred and thirty-six ADHD patients with (n = 51, 37.5 %) and without SUD (n = 85, 62.5 %). The presence of SUD was associated with irritable temperament (p = 0.009), as well as more frequent school failure (p = 0.038), legal problems (p = 0.039), and lifetime suicide attempts (p = 0.014).

LIMITATIONS

The cross-sectional design, the relatively small sample size, and the use of self-administered questionnaires.

CONCLUSIONS

This study confirms the greater overall severity of adult ADHD-SUD compared with ADHD-only patients and suggests the potential role of irritable temperament as a predictor of substance-related problems.

Affective Temperaments Misdiagnosed as Adult Attention Deficit Disorder: Prevalence and Treatment Effects

ABSTRACT

Adult attention-deficit disorder (ADD) is a common diagnosis, and amphetamine medications are increasingly used. Recent reports suggest high prevalence of affective temperaments, such as cyclothymia, in adult ADD. This study reexamines prevalence rates as reflecting misdiagnosis and reports for the first time on the effects of amphetamine medications on mood/anxiety and cognition in relation to affective temperaments. Among outpatients treated at the Tufts Medical Center Mood Disorders Program (2008-2017), 87 cases treated with amphetamines were identified, versus 163 non-amphetamine-treated control subjects. Using the Temperament Scale of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego-Autoquestionnaire, 62% had an affective temperament, most commonly cyclothymia (42%). In amphetamine-treated cases, mood/anxiety symptoms worsened notably in 27% ( vs. 4% in the control group, risk ratio [RR] 6.2, confidence interval [CI], 2.8-13.8), whereas 24% had moderate improvement in cognition ( vs. 6% in the control group; RR, 3.93; CI, 1.9-8.0). Affective temperaments, especially cyclothymia, are present in persons about one-half of persons diagnosed with adult ADD and/or treated with amphetamines.

Temperament correlates in adult ADHD: A systematic review★★

BACKGROUND

Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common neurodevelopmental disorder in children, but adult-ADHD is still an under-diagnosed and untreated condition. Treating adult-ADHD is complex and requires effective strategies for ADHD symptoms and comorbidities. Because of its high comorbidity rate with mood disorders and the growing interest in symptoms of emotional dysregulation in these patients, our aim was to collect studies that investigated temperament correlates in adult people with ADHD, to better understand the association between them and the eventual role of temperament as a prognostic-therapeutic marker.

METHODS

We performed a systematic review of the literature. We included only studies that measured temperament traits in ADHD adults using the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Paris and San Diego-Auto-questionnaire (TEMPS-A) or the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI).

RESULTS

We retrieved 15 papers that used the TCI and 6 papers that used the TEMPS-A. In the TCI studies, ADHD was associated with high scores on Novelty Seeking and Harm Avoidance and low scores on Persistence. For the TEMPS-A studies, ADHD and Bipolar Disorders share some similarities in temperament scores, except for the hyperthymic temperament score.

LIMITATIONS

A comparison between the TCI and TEMPS-A results was not possible. The number of papers included was small. Among them, the type of sample, the number of recruited subjects and the ADHD assessment were very different.

CONCLUSIONS

The majority of ADHD individuals share temperament traits such as lability, irritability and excessiveness of emotional responses. Further research is needed to better understand whether temperament influences the pharmacological response of ADHD patients and whether temperament scores affect the long-term therapeutic outcome.