Decision-Making Deficits in ADHD Are Not Related to Risk Seeking But to Suboptimal Decision-Making: Meta-Analytical and Novel Experimental Evidence

Tycho J. Dekkers; Joost A. Agelink van Rentergem; Hilde M. Huizenga; Hamutal Raber; Rachel Shoham; Arne Popma; Yehuda Pollak

doi:10.1177/1087054718815572

Decision-Making Deficits in ADHD Are Not Related to Risk Seeking But to Suboptimal Decision-Making: Meta-Analytical and Novel Experimental Evidence

Tycho J. Dekkers^*, Joost A. Agelink van Rentergem, Hilde M. Huizenga, Hamutal Raber, Rachel Shoham, Arne Popma, Yehuda Pollak

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Education

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: ADHD is related to decision-making deficits in real-life (e.g., substance abuse) and on experimental tasks (increased preference for risky options). In most tasks, risk and expected value are confounded (risky options have lowest expected value), making it impossible to disentangle risky from suboptimal (i.e., not choosing highest expected value) decision-making. We differentiated between risky and suboptimal decision-making in ADHD in two studies. Method and Results: First, on a multilevel meta-regression analysis (k = 48, n_ADHD = 1,144, n_Control = 1,108), ADHD and controls differed if the risky option was suboptimal (ADHD choosing more risky/suboptimal), whereas groups performed similar if the risky option was not suboptimal. Second, an empirical study showed that adults with ADHD (n = 40) made more suboptimal, but not more risky choices than controls (n = 40). Conclusion: These results contribute to a growing body of evidence that decision-making deficits in ADHD are driven by suboptimal decision-making and not by risk seeking.

Original language	American English
Pages (from-to)	486-501
Number of pages	16
Journal	Journal of Attention Disorders
Volume	25
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054718815572
State	Published - Feb 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank all participants. Furthermore, we are grateful for all data that has been kindly provided for the meta-analysis by authors of the included articles and would like to thank Danielle Haham for her excellent help in running the experiment. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research is supported by a VICI grant 45312015 (H.M.H., T.J.D.) and by a MaGW grant 48012015 (H.M.H., J.A.vR.) from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), and by an internal grant of the Authority for Research and Development from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Y.P.). Funding sources had no role in the study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of the data, writing of the manuscript, nor the decision to submit the paper for publication.

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2018.

Keywords

ADHD
decision-making
expected value
meta-analysis
risk-taking

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1177/1087054718815572

Cite this

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title = "Decision-Making Deficits in ADHD Are Not Related to Risk Seeking But to Suboptimal Decision-Making: Meta-Analytical and Novel Experimental Evidence",

abstract = "Objective: ADHD is related to decision-making deficits in real-life (e.g., substance abuse) and on experimental tasks (increased preference for risky options). In most tasks, risk and expected value are confounded (risky options have lowest expected value), making it impossible to disentangle risky from suboptimal (i.e., not choosing highest expected value) decision-making. We differentiated between risky and suboptimal decision-making in ADHD in two studies. Method and Results: First, on a multilevel meta-regression analysis (k = 48, n_ADHD = 1,144, n_Control = 1,108), ADHD and controls differed if the risky option was suboptimal (ADHD choosing more risky/suboptimal), whereas groups performed similar if the risky option was not suboptimal. Second, an empirical study showed that adults with ADHD (n = 40) made more suboptimal, but not more risky choices than controls (n = 40). Conclusion: These results contribute to a growing body of evidence that decision-making deficits in ADHD are driven by suboptimal decision-making and not by risk seeking.",

keywords = "ADHD, decision-making, expected value, meta-analysis, risk-taking",

author = "Dekkers, {Tycho J.} and {Agelink van Rentergem}, {Joost A.} and Huizenga, {Hilde M.} and Hamutal Raber and Rachel Shoham and Arne Popma and Yehuda Pollak",

note = "Funding Information: The authors would like to thank all participants. Furthermore, we are grateful for all data that has been kindly provided for the meta-analysis by authors of the included articles and would like to thank Danielle Haham for her excellent help in running the experiment. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research is supported by a VICI grant 45312015 (H.M.H., T.J.D.) and by a MaGW grant 48012015 (H.M.H., J.A.vR.) from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), and by an internal grant of the Authority for Research and Development from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Y.P.). Funding sources had no role in the study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of the data, writing of the manuscript, nor the decision to submit the paper for publication. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2018.",

year = "2021",

month = feb,

doi = "10.1177/1087054718815572",

language = "American English",

volume = "25",

pages = "486--501",

journal = "Journal of Attention Disorders",

issn = "1087-0547",

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T1 - Decision-Making Deficits in ADHD Are Not Related to Risk Seeking But to Suboptimal Decision-Making

T2 - Meta-Analytical and Novel Experimental Evidence

AU - Dekkers, Tycho J.

AU - Agelink van Rentergem, Joost A.

AU - Huizenga, Hilde M.

AU - Raber, Hamutal

AU - Shoham, Rachel

AU - Popma, Arne

AU - Pollak, Yehuda

N1 - Funding Information: The authors would like to thank all participants. Furthermore, we are grateful for all data that has been kindly provided for the meta-analysis by authors of the included articles and would like to thank Danielle Haham for her excellent help in running the experiment. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research is supported by a VICI grant 45312015 (H.M.H., T.J.D.) and by a MaGW grant 48012015 (H.M.H., J.A.vR.) from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), and by an internal grant of the Authority for Research and Development from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Y.P.). Funding sources had no role in the study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of the data, writing of the manuscript, nor the decision to submit the paper for publication. Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2018.

PY - 2021/2

Y1 - 2021/2

N2 - Objective: ADHD is related to decision-making deficits in real-life (e.g., substance abuse) and on experimental tasks (increased preference for risky options). In most tasks, risk and expected value are confounded (risky options have lowest expected value), making it impossible to disentangle risky from suboptimal (i.e., not choosing highest expected value) decision-making. We differentiated between risky and suboptimal decision-making in ADHD in two studies. Method and Results: First, on a multilevel meta-regression analysis (k = 48, n_ADHD = 1,144, n_Control = 1,108), ADHD and controls differed if the risky option was suboptimal (ADHD choosing more risky/suboptimal), whereas groups performed similar if the risky option was not suboptimal. Second, an empirical study showed that adults with ADHD (n = 40) made more suboptimal, but not more risky choices than controls (n = 40). Conclusion: These results contribute to a growing body of evidence that decision-making deficits in ADHD are driven by suboptimal decision-making and not by risk seeking.

AB - Objective: ADHD is related to decision-making deficits in real-life (e.g., substance abuse) and on experimental tasks (increased preference for risky options). In most tasks, risk and expected value are confounded (risky options have lowest expected value), making it impossible to disentangle risky from suboptimal (i.e., not choosing highest expected value) decision-making. We differentiated between risky and suboptimal decision-making in ADHD in two studies. Method and Results: First, on a multilevel meta-regression analysis (k = 48, n_ADHD = 1,144, n_Control = 1,108), ADHD and controls differed if the risky option was suboptimal (ADHD choosing more risky/suboptimal), whereas groups performed similar if the risky option was not suboptimal. Second, an empirical study showed that adults with ADHD (n = 40) made more suboptimal, but not more risky choices than controls (n = 40). Conclusion: These results contribute to a growing body of evidence that decision-making deficits in ADHD are driven by suboptimal decision-making and not by risk seeking.

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KW - decision-making

KW - expected value

KW - meta-analysis

KW - risk-taking

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JO - Journal of Attention Disorders

JF - Journal of Attention Disorders

IS - 4

ER -

Decision-Making Deficits in ADHD Are Not Related to Risk Seeking But to Suboptimal Decision-Making: Meta-Analytical and Novel Experimental Evidence

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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