Differences in Risk and Benefit Perceptions among Adults with and without ADHD

Introduction: ADHD is assumed to be associated with increased engagement in risk-taking behaviors such as dangerous driving, substance abuse, and more. To better comprehend what underlies this association we took a behavioral economics approach. In a previous study, by measuring ADHD symptoms in the general population, the above association was established and found to be affected by benefit perception, but not for level of risk perception or risk attitude.
Objective: The current study furthers these findings in a case-control study design controlling for various demographic and clinical variables. While remaining in the behavioral economic approach, we developed a new questionnaire, Adult Risk-Taking Inventor (ARTI), that was based on the risk outcome.
Methods: Demographic data were taken from 292 adults who were assessed for ADHD and other mental history. Additionally, the likelihood of engagement in a range of risky behaviors, the magnitude of perceived benefit and risk ascribed to these behaviors, and benefit and risk attitudes of each participant were extracted from the ARTI scales.
Results: Compared to controls and beyond background characteristics, adults with ADHD demonstrated increased risk-taking behavior across outcome domains and increased benefit perceptions, but similar risk perception and attitude towards risk. Discussion: These findings emphasize the role of benefit perception in facilitating risk taking by people with ADHD and raise the suggestion that strategies that consider individuals’ preferences should be part of interventions programs. These findings also demonstrate that the use of behavioral economic approach leads to meaningful conclusions when studying risk-taking behavior amongst people with ADHD.