(PS11-A7) Emotional Lability and Its Relation with Self-reported Learning and Study Skills in College Students with Underdeveloped Executive Functions

Emotional Lability (EL) is a tendency to experience rapid mood shifts, irritability, low frustration tolerance, and difficulties with anger management and is a common feature of multiple psychiatric conditions (Conners et al., 1999). Importantly, EL has a strong association with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) even after accounting for the presence of other psychiatric disorders (Vidal et al., 2014). EL has also been shown to be related to poorer educational outcomes (e.g., lower graduation rates, academic probation) after controlling for symptoms of ADHD (Anastopoulos et al., 2011, Barkley & Fischer, 2010). These academic difficulties may be due to the contributory role that self-regulation plays in efficient learning, as self-regulation aids in the strategic management of learning and study strategies (Weinstein et al., 2011). Indeed, prior studies have shown a relationship between self-regulatory processes, study strategies, and academic performance (e.g., Peverly et al., 2003). Despite the importance of self-regulation in learning, no known studies have examined the association of EL and self-reported learning and study strategies. We hypothesized that EL would be associated with self-reported weaknesses in the implementation of learning and study skills above and beyond symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity.

Participants included 41 graduate and undergraduate students (65% female; 45.7% white; 39.1% black) who were administered the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI; Weinstein, Palmer, & Schulte, 1987) and the Conners Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS; Conners et al., 1999) as a baseline assessment of their symptomatology and learning skills prior to participating in a larger efficacy study of the Group for Organization, Attention and Learning Skills (GOALS) program. GOALS is an organizational skills training intervention designed to address the unique needs of college students with executive function deficits or clinically significant ADHD symptoms. EL was operationalized by six items on CAARS; a method of EL measurement that has been established by previous research (e.g., Vidal et al., 2014).

Results of the multivariate regression indicated that the overall model was statistically significant (Pillai’s Trace = .63, F(10, 26) = 2.35, p = .03). Additionally, EL was found to be significantly associated with the following LASSI subscales: attitude and interests (β = -.56, t(38) = -2.40, p =.022), information processing (β = -.97, t(38) = -3.53, p = .001), and supporting techniques (β = -.52, t(38) = -2.14, p = .040). Additionally, the effect of EL approached significance for self-testing (β = -.49, t(38) = -1.85, p = .072).

              Results of this study indicate that EL is associated with poorer attitudes about achieving academic success, fewer strategies employed to review and identify important information, and less instances of seeking academic support after taking into account symptoms of ADHD. These findings imply that teaching emotion regulation skills, inclusive of mindfulness or distress tolerance (Linehan et al., 2007), may be beneficial to incorporate into the training sequence when delivering organizational skills interventions to maximize treatment outcomes.