Emotional Intelligence in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Emotional intelligence refers to comprehending the feelings of oneself and others, utilizing these feelings to cope with daily-life demands, showing empathy, adaptability to change, managing stress, self-motivation and establishing successful relationships. Many authors state that there is a social deficit in children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Children and adults with ADHD were found to have lower ability in recognizing emotions from mimics and sounds, have more aggressive behavior, lower frustration tolerance and impaired self-control. Therefore, some authors suggest the addition of a new core symptom in the diagnosis of ADHD, which could clearly identify problems at the interpersonal interaction besides attention deficit, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Considering the fact that abilities associated with emotional intelligence can be learned and improved, developing emotional intelligence can be thought as a target for therapy by individualized education for patients with ADHD