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Emotional regulation in individuals with developmental dyslexia.
Poster Session D, Saturday, September 13, 5:00 - 6:30 pm, Field House
Andromeda Henderson1, Stephanie Del Tufo1; 1University of Delaware
The ability to regulate emotion develops through the gradual growth of self-regulatory capacities during childhood. However, emotional regulation is refined through situational demands, interpersonal influences, and individuals’ goals within a given context. For most children, improvements in emotional regulation contribute to greater well-being. In contrast, for children with developmental disorders, regulating emotion often involves challenging environments and competing goals (e.g., Do I make trouble and go to the principal’s office or read in front of my classmates?). Further, as children mature into emerging adulthood, expectations for socially appropriate emotion management increase. Developmental dyslexia, a specific difficulty in reading despite adequate intelligence, motivation, and instruction, is characterized by impairments in phonological awareness, reading fluency, and spelling. Although much research has focused on the academic challenges associated with dyslexia, its broader emotional consequences remain underexplored. Adolescents and emerging adults with dyslexia often experience not only academic difficulties but also heightened rates of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, externalizing behaviors, and poor stress management. These findings highlight the need to understand emotional regulation in individuals with developmental dyslexia. Methods We examined executive functioning in 129 participants, 22 of whom (17.05%) self-reported a prior diagnosis of developmental dyslexia. Standardized reading measures from the TOWRE-II (Torgesen, 2012) and WRMT-IV (Woodcock, 2011) confirmed self-report. Executive functioning, including emotional regulation, was assessed using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning – Adult Version (BRIEF-A; Roth, 2005). The BRIEF-A consists of 75 behavior statements, with participants indicating whether each behavior had been never, sometimes, or often a problem over the past month. The measure yields nine composite scales of executive functioning: Inhibition, Shift, Emotional Control, Self-Monitoring, Initiate, Working Memory, Plan/Organize, Task Monitor, and Organization of Materials. Analyses were conducted in R version 4.4.2. Assumptions of normality and equality of variance were assessed via the Shapiro-Wilk and Levene’s test, respectively. Independent samples t-tests were used to compare mean scores between individuals with and without developmental dyslexia. Results A comparison between individuals with and without developmental dyslexia across the nine BRIEF-A standardized scales revealed a significant difference only on the Emotional Regulation scale (t126 = 2.18, p = .032), with a medium effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.51, 95% CI [0.05, 0.97]). Conclusion Our findings suggest that adolescents and emerging adults with developmental dyslexia experience challenges in emotional regulation, even when other aspects of executive function are comparable to their peers. While historically developmental dyslexia was studied primarily through the lens of academic performance and neurobiological dysfunction in brain regions associated with reading and language, it is increasingly evident that its impact extends beyond these domains. Despite its importance, emotional regulation remains an underexplored area in dyslexia research. A more comprehensive understanding of dyslexia that integrates cognitive and emotional challenges may guide the development of effective educational practices and interventions. Recognizing and supporting emotional regulation in those with dyslexia may promote not only academic achievement but also social and emotional well-being. By addressing emotional regulation alongside reading skills, educators may foster greater resilience and long-term success in those with developmental dyslexia.
Topic Areas: Disorders: Developmental, Control, Selection, and Executive Processes