Comparison of the Effect of Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Emotion Regulation on Distress Tolerance and Suicide Ideation in Symptoms of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Adolescents

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is the most common behavioral disorder in childhood and adolescents. The deficit in attention, hyperactivity and impulsity could affect the edcations and social relations. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Emotion Regulation on distress tolerance and suicide ideation disorder in adolescents. The statistical population of this study included all Tehran city female high school students in academic year 2019-2020. 45 students were selected, using a purposive sampling method and randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group. To collect data Conner’s Adult ADHD Rating Scale (Conner’s, Erhardt & Sparrow (1999), Distress Tolerance Scale of Simmons & Gahr (2005) and Beck & Steer (1987) Suicide Ideation Scale were implemented. This quasi-experimental study was conducted with a pretest, posttest and follow-up design with control group. The experimental groups underwent Dialectical Behavior Therapy (12 sessions 60 minutes each) and Emotion Regulation training (8 sessions of 45 minutes), while the control group received no training. Data were analysed using covariance analysis. The results showed that Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Emotion Regulation training were significantly effective to increase distress tolerance and decrease Suicide Ideation in students (p < 0.01); There was no significant difference between the two treatments in increasing distress tolerance but Dialectical Behavior Therapy had a greater impact on improving adolescents suicide ideation than Emotion Regulation Training. It was concluded that the use of Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Emotion Regulation Training could reduce risky behaviors in individuals with ADHD.