A narrative review to identify promising approaches for digital health interventions to support emotion regulation for adolescents with ADHD

Abstract

Emotion regulation difficulties affect many adolescents with ADHD, and previous research has highlighted a need for accessible interventions to support them in this domain in real life contexts. Digital health interventions (DHIs) can be embedded in adolescents’ daily lives and thus offer considerable promise for meeting this need. However, there is a lack of information to guide the development of suitable DHIs. The current narrative review synthesises diverse relevant evidence to inform their development, including promising therapeutic approaches and components, as well as other relevant design, development and evaluation considerations. Based on our findings, we recommend therapeutic approaches built on variants of cognitive behavioural therapy that are focused on emotions and their regulation and that additionally consider the latest research on emotion regulation in ADHD. Embedding elements designed to motivate and engage young people in order to support sustained adherence should be explored. The development process should be based on a co-production approach with young people with ADHD. The research described within this report was supported by a Medical Research Foundation (MRF) grant (Reference: MRF-001-0014-RG-MURR-C0932) and AM was additionally supported by a Wellcome Trust Career Development Grant (REF: 225364/Z/22/Z)