The relationships among habitual exercise, emotion regulation, and quality of life in college students with ADHD: a mixed-methods study.

To examine relationships between habitual exercise, emotion regulation, medication status, and quality of life (QoL) in college students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). College students with ADHD ( = 53) completed a survey on habitual exercise, emotion regulation (expression suppression, cognitive reappraisal), medication status, and QoL. A moderated mediation model was used to examine relationships between exercise, emotion regulation strategies, QoL, and ADHD medication. A subset of participants ( = 6) completed semi-structured interviews on exercise benefits. There was a positive main effect of exercise on expression suppression, ( = 0.007). There was a stronger association between exercise and cognitive reappraisal in participants taking ADHD medication ( = 0.006) than those not medicated ( = 0.942). Qualitative analysis identified primary themes of both ADHD-related exercise benefits (e.g. reduced hyperactivity), and non-ADHD-related exercise benefits (e.g. feelings of accomplishment). Habitual exercise may improve aspects of emotion regulation in college students with ADHD.