Evaluation of Medical School Students in Terms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Emotional Regulation Difficulties

Objective: The symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affect individuals’ education, quality of life, work, and social life. Studies have indicated that adults with ADHD often experience emotion dysregulation as much as they exhibit the core symptoms of the disorder, leading to...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ayşe Akan, Engin Burak Selçuk, Burcu Kayhan Tetik, Mustafa Akan, Ahmet Kadir Arslan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Galenos Publishing House 2025-01-01
Series:Gazi Medical Journal
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Online Access:https://gazimedj.com/articles/evaluation-of-medical-school-students-in-terms-of-attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-and-emotional-regulation-difficulties/doi/gmj.2024.4171
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Summary:Objective: The symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affect individuals’ education, quality of life, work, and social life. Studies have indicated that adults with ADHD often experience emotion dysregulation as much as they exhibit the core symptoms of the disorder, leading to significant problems in social life. This study aimed to evaluate ADHD symptoms and emotional regulation difficulties in medical students studying at a university hospital. Methods: The research was conducted between 20.10.2021 and 20.11.2021 in the family medicine department of a university hospital. The sociodemographic data form, adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS), and difficulties in emotion regulation scale (DERS) were administered to the participants online via Google surveys. The study sample was grouped according to the total ASRS score of the participants. Results: A total of 552 participants were included in the study. Participants were divided into 3 groups: high probable ADHD (HP-ADHD), probable ADHD (P-ADHD), and without ADHD (WO-ADHD) according to the ASRS cutoff score. The HP-ADHD group had higher DERS total score and all subscale scores than the WO-ADHD group (p<0.001 for all analyses). The ASRS total scores were positively correlated with the DERS total scores (r=0.643, p<0.001). In addition, suicide attempts, forensic event history, and class failure were significantly more frequent in the HP-ADHD group than in the WO-ADHD group (p<0.001, p=0.043, p=0.024 respectively). Conclusion: There is a significant correlation between ADHD and emotional regulation difficulties, which may cause clinical diversity that may cause problems in different areas of life in adults.
ISSN:2147-2092