A Comparison of Self-Reported Emotional Regulation Skills in Adults With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Emotion dysregulation has been described as a central feature of both borderline personality disorder (BPD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The current study aims to compare emotion regulation among ADHD, BPD, and healthy controls (HC). METHOD: Eighty adults with ADHD, 55 with BPD, and 55 HC completed self-report assessments of ADHD and BPD symptoms, psychosocial functioning, and emotion regulation skills. Principal components analysis (PCA) was conducted on the emotion regulation items, followed by multivariate analyses of group differences in emotion regulation. RESULTS: PCA yielded four components: "Being Aware of Emotions," "Making Sense of Emotions," "Mod..