Understanding the aetiology of emotional outbursts in children and young people

Chung, Justin Cheuk Yin ORCID: 0000-0002-3779-2115 (2023). Understanding the aetiology of emotional outbursts in children and young people. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

Children and young people with neurodevelopmental disorders and people who have experienced childhood adversity commonly experience emotional outbursts, which have wide-ranging negative impacts on personal and family wellbeing. Historically, emotional outbursts have been considered as one example of a myriad of challenging behaviours caused by emotion dysregulation, but the specific relationship between such dysregulation and outbursts has received limited attention. The present thesis aimed to establish a transdiagnostic account of the aetiology of emotional outbursts, and to identify measures that might further support the development of this framework. Using a series of mixed-effects models, the capacity to index emotion regulation through performance metrics of a social decision-making game was examined through secondary analysis of data from typically developing children and young people. Furthermore, an informant-report questionnaire (the Emotional Outburst Questionnaire) was developed to transdiagnostically measure the characteristics of emotional outbursts in children and young people. This questionnaire was translated and adapted into a Brazilian-Portuguese version to extend the reach of the measure and to provide a cross-cultural comparison. Data from these two versions of the Emotional Outburst Questionnaire enabled the identification and verification of three distinct patterns of contexts associated with outbursts through cluster analysis. These patterns of contexts were theorised to correspond to different pathways to emotional outbursts, each relating to unique differences in emotion dysregulation. The perspectives of caregivers were analysed through a grounded theory approach to ascertain the aetiological mechanisms involved in each of the proposed pathways, in addition to the general mechanisms of outburst escalation and manifestation. Overall, the present thesis established an aetiological framework of emotional outbursts that could inform the development of pathway-specific intervention strategies for emotional outbursts.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):