ADHD Traits, Emotion Dysregulation, And Romantic Relationship Satisfaction In College Students

A few studies have shown that increased emotion dysregulation in adolescents and adults with ADHD is associated with lower romantic relationship satisfaction (Bodalski et al., 2018; Maherio et al., 2020). The aim of the current study is to examine the relationship between the aforementioned variables in college students. The sample consists of 135 female and 21 male college students aged “18” to “26 and older.” The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz & Roemer, 2004) was used to assess emotion dysregulation, along with the Couples Satisfaction Index (CSI-16; Funk & Rogge, 2007) for romantic relationship satisfaction. The DSM-5 Current Symptoms Questionnaire (APA, 2013) was used to assess ADHD traits. Additionally, participants were given the Conflict Measure (Gordon & Chen, 2016) and the Conflict Resolution Style Inventory (Self-Rating; CRSI-Self; Kurdek, 1994). Bivariate correlation analyses revealed that all independent and dependent variables were significantly correlated. The final model in our hierarchical regression analysis was statistically significant, but the only individual significant predictor of romantic relationship satisfaction was experienced conflict. Due to the simple correlations between all variables, however, the results may suggest that, rather than having no effect, ADHD traits and emotion dysregulation influence experienced conflict in relationships, which is likely a direct contributor to romantic relationship dissatisfaction. Future studies should verify these results in more diverse samples and with individuals who have an official diagnosis of ADHD.