The relationship between emotion dysregulation and sleep in children and adolescents with ADHD: protocol for a systematic review

• Published in: BMJ open Vol. 15; no. 5; p. e099096
• Main Authors: Sørensen, Lin, Jensen, Daniel A, Lykkebø, Amalie, Adolfsdottir, Steinunn, Holmen, Nina, Becker, Stephen P, Flo-Groeneboom, Elisabeth
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England British Medical Journal Publishing Group 27.05.2025; BMJ Publishing Group LTD; BMJ Publishing Group
• Subjects: Adolescence; Adolescent; Affective Symptoms - complications; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - complications; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - psychology; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Child; Child development; Child, Preschool; Children & youth; Emotional Regulation; Emotions; Humans; Hyperactivity; MENTAL HEALTH; Paediatrics; Peers; Protocol; Research Design; Sleep; SLEEP MEDICINE; Sleep Wake Disorders - psychology; Systematic review; Systematic Reviews as Topic; Teenagers; SLEEP MEDICINE; MENTAL HEALTH; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
• ISSN: 2044-6055; 2044-6055
• DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-099096

IntroductionOver half of children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have difficulties with emotion dysregulation (EDR) and/or sleep, yet the interrelations between emotional regulation and sleep are not well-characterised in this population. This systematic review will address the relationship between these difficulties and investigate whether specific aspects of EDR are more strongly related to sleep problems in youth with ADHD.Methods and analysisWe will adhere to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis guideline for systematic reviews. A wide set of electronic databases will be searched for peer-reviewed quantitative studies investigating the relationship between EDR and sleep in children and adolescents (ages 5 to 18 years) with ADHD. In addition, the reference list of all studies will be searched for other relevant studies, and Scopus will be used to search for citations of the included studies. We will also contact experts in the field to request published and unpublished studies. The primary outcome will be the effect size of the relationship between EDR and sleep in children and adolescents with ADHD. We will look at EDR and sleep broadly and also consider the multifaceted nature of both terms. Secondary outcomes will include which facets of EDR and sleep have been measured and how they have been measured, developmental differences between children and adolescents with ADHD and how—and the extent to which—studies controlled for the use of CNS medications and cooccurring disorders in their study design and/or statistical analyses. The quality and risk of bias of the included studies will be assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.Ethics and disseminationThis protocol is for a review of studies and does not involve any new data collection and therefore does not need ethical or human subjects approval. The results will be presented at international conferences and in a peer-reviewed journal.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42024612984.