This systematic review pulled together 33 studies with about 2,678 people. The studies used short, repeated check-ins during daily life, often on smartphones or handheld devices. Participants were aged 7 to 60. They included children, teens and adults with an ADHD diagnosis or with ADHD symptoms. The review reports no new data of its own.
Across the studies, the authors found that negative feelings rose and fell from moment to moment. Swings in frustration and irritability were linked to more severe ADHD and more trouble in daily life. In one study, teens with ADHD had bigger swings in both good and bad moods than teens without ADHD. In another, adults with ADHD felt negative emotions more strongly and less steadily than a comparison group, even after allowing for bad events that day. In 109 young people, an irritable mood came before later temper outbursts.
People completed between 60% and 99% of the check-ins. The evidence has limits. Most studies did not account for medication, other conditions or socioeconomic status. Most relied on self or parent reports. Only 4 of 33 studies reported how fast people answered, and 19 of 33 did not properly report dropouts.
The authors suggest that assessments of people with ADHD should include emotional swings, and that this kind of data could help clinicians map each person's emotional triggers and track response to treatment.
Source: Poetar C, Nistor A. Ecological Momentary Assessment of Emotion Dysregulation in Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review. Psychiatric Quarterly (2026). doi:10.1007/s11126-026-10291-6