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Observational Study
. 2023 Feb 21;18(2):e0280445.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280445. eCollection 2023.

ADHD and political participation: An observational study

Affiliations
Observational Study

ADHD and political participation: An observational study

Israel Waismel-Manor et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background and objective: Over the past decade, researchers have been seeking to understand the consequences of adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for different types of everyday behaviors. In this study, we investigated the associations between ADHD and political participation and attitudes, as ADHD may impede their active participation in the polity.

Methods: This observational study used data from an online panel studying the adult Jewish population in Israel, collected prior the national elections of April 2019 (N = 1369). ADHD symptoms were assessed using the 6-item Adult ADHD Self-Report (ASRS-6). Political participation (traditional and digital), news consumption habits, and attitudinal measures were assessed using structured questionnaires. Multivariate linear regression analyses were conducted to analyze the association between ADHD symptoms (ASRS score <17) and reported political participation and attitudes.

Results: 200 respondents (14.6%) screened positive for ADHD based on the ASRS-6. Our findings show that individuals with ADHD are more likely to participate in politics than individuals without ADHD symptoms (B = 0.303, SE = 0.10, p = .003). However, participants with ADHD are more likely to be passive consumers of news, waiting for current political news to reach them instead of actively searching for it (B = 0.172, SE = 0.60, p = .004). They are also more prone to support the idea of silencing other opinions (B = 0.226, SE = 0.10, p = .029). The findings hold when controlling for age, sex, level of education, income, political orientation, religiosity, and stimulant therapy for ADHD symptoms.

Conclusions: Overall, we find evidence that individuals with ADHD display a unique pattern of political activity, including greater participation and less tolerance of others' views, but not necessarily showing greater active interest in politics. Our findings add to a growing body of literature that examines the impact of ADHD on different types of everyday behaviors.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. The differences between participants with and without ADHD.
Note. Individuals who screened positive for ADHD reported higher levels of political participation than individuals who screened negative, both digitally and in traditional ways. Participants with ADHD had a greater tendency to be passive consumers of news and were also less tolerant towards others voicing their opinions. We did not observe a significant difference between participants with vs. without ADHD in their sense of representation, willingness to curb democratic norms, trust in political institutions, interest in politics, or consumption of popular news media.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Note.
Individuals who screened positive for ADHD but were not taking stimulant drugs to treat their symptoms showed no significant differences in their political behaviors and attitudes compared to all respondents who reported taking stimulants regardless of their ASRS-6 scores in any parameter except trust in political institutions.

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