Attachment, Emotion Regulation, and ADHD: The Role of the Khadama (Foreign Domestic Worker) in Qatar

Abstract

The general aims have been explored across three studies presented in this thesis. The objectives of this thesis were to investigate: a) the relationship between ADHD and emotion regulation, b) attachment security of primary and secondary parental figures as a valid construct in Arabic, c) the relationship between attachment security and emotion regulation strategies and their effects on the symptoms of hyperactivity and inattention problems. Study 1 is a meta-analysis that selected 172 studies based on the relationship between ADHD forms with emotion (dys)regulation strategies considering a broad spectrum of possible manifestations across samples while exploring the effects of different moderators. The meta-analysis demonstrated the general relationship of ADHD with emotion regulation and dysregulation. Study 2 covers the validation in Modern Standard Arabic of an attachment measure to assess attachment to parents and to a secondary figure commonplace in Qatar: the foreign domestic worker (FDW), also known as Khadama. By utilizing the reliable and valid A-IPDWA newly created questionnaire, we will be able to study attachment security to primary parental figures (mother and father) and to secondary attachment figure (i.e., FDW). Finally, Study 3 utilized a mediation analysis to investigate emotion regulation (ER) mediates the relationship between attachment security to primary (mother and father) and secondary parental figures and (hyperactivity and attention problems) in a sample of 286 adolescents studying in schools in Qatar. In Study 3, although there was no mediation of emotion regulation, as initially hypothesized, we found that FDW positively predicted hyperactivity and attention problems, while gender differences in the associations applied. The general findings demonstrated that hyperactivity and attention problems in ADHD relate to emotion regulation strategies and attachment security of primary parental figures and FDWs.