Self-esteem in young adults: Relationship with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms and emotion regulation difficulties

In this study, it was aimed to examine the relationship between self-esteem, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, emotion regulation difficulties among young adults. The sample consisted of 585 university students between the ages of 18-40 at all education levels in Turkey. Within the scope of the purpose of the study, Adult Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder Self-Report Scale (ASRS), self-esteem subscale of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), Emotion Regulation Difficulty Scale-Short Form (DERS-16), Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and Socio-demographic Information Form were used. To make comparisons between low, medium and high self-esteem groups; Chi-Square Test and Kruskal-Wallis H Test were performed in terms of socio-demographic variables; ANOVA was applied with regard to the scores of the scales. Accordingly, it was found that the variables of being diagnosed with a mental disorder, adverse childhood life experience and self-harming behavior and all scale scores were significantly different among self-esteem groups. Furthermore, the relationship between ADHD symptoms and emotion regulation, self-esteem and general psychological symptomatology variables was examined by correlation analysis that yielded statistically significant relationships with a range of levels was found between self-esteem and all scale scores Finally, in the hierarchical regression analysis ran, it was concluded that ADHD symptoms and emotion regulation strategies with the variables of being diagnosed with a mental disorder, childhood negative life experience, self-harming behavior and psychological symptomatology explained 45% of the variance in self-esteem. The findings of the study were discussed within the scope of the literature. Key words: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD, emotion regulation, self-esteem, young adults