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Study: Risk Taking — Including Prosocial and Positive Forms — More Likely in ADHD

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“Study: Risk Taking — Including Prosocial and Positive Forms — More Likely in ADHD”
Source: ADDitude magazine

ADHD has long been associated with impulsivity and harmful risk-taking, often framed primarily in terms of negative outcomes. However, emerging research is beginning to challenge this one-sided perspective. A new study by A. B. M. Fuermaier and colleagues, published in the Journal of Attention Disorders, expands this conversation by examining whether ADHD characteristics in adults are also linked to positive and prosocial forms of risk-taking.

Drawing on a large community sample of adults from the Netherlands, the study investigates how ADHD traits relate to three domains of risk-taking: negative (potentially harmful behaviors), positive (risks taken for personal growth or gain), and prosocial (risks taken to benefit others). The findings indicate that while ADHD characteristics are most strongly associated with negative risk-taking, they are also linked, albeit more modestly, to positive and prosocial risks. 

Rather than viewing risk-taking solely as a liability, the study highlights that the same underlying tendencies may also support behaviors like trying new opportunities, speaking up, or advocating for others. The authors note that more research is needed, as the link between ADHD traits and positive or prosocial risk-taking is likely complex and may be influenced by factors such as anxiety, depression, and stress as well. Still, these findings support a more nuanced view of ADHD, with potential to support a positive sense of self and encourage more effective coping strategies.

Author: Devorah Rothman MS
Editor: Nicholas Crimarco PhD

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  • To view our ADHD fact sheet, click here.

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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a type of treatment that is based firmly on research findings.  It places emphasis on changing your cognitions (thoughts) or behaviors (actions) in order to effect change in how you feel. These approaches help people in achieving specific changes or goals.

Changes or goals might involve:

A way of acting: like smoking less or being more outgoing;
A way of feeling: like helping a person to be less scared, less depressed, or less anxious;
A way of thinking: like learning to problem-solve or get rid of self-defeating thoughts;
A way of dealing with physical or medical problems: like reducing back pain or helping a person stick to a doctor’s suggestions.

Cognitive behavioral therapists usually focus more on the current situation and its solution, rather than the past. They concentrate on a person’s views and beliefs about their life. CBT is an effective treatment for individuals, parents, children, couples, and families. The goal of CBT is to help people improve and gain more control over their lives by changing behaviors that don’t work well to ones that do.

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