2018_10_10_ICS_tdah

The University of Navarra is looking for volunteers between 18 and 30 years old with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for a research on decision-making in adults with and without this disorder. It is estimated that 3% of the adult population suffers from it.

Gonzalo Arrondo and Javier Bernácer, researchers at group 'Mente-cerebro' del Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) and responsible for the initiative, mention international studies that associate ADHD to less healthy life habits, to the earlier withdrawal of the programs of study, to sedentary lifestyles, to substance abuse...

They point out that in the period between 18 and 30 years of age, the age range on which project focuses, many of these behaviors are aggravated. "Some have to do with a lack of ability to sustain effort over time and with valuing risk differently, from cheating on a test to driving under the influence of alcohol," says Arrondo.

In this way, they seek to study how the delay until the reward is obtained, how safe or risky it is to obtain it or the effort that must be made to obtain it cause the value of a award to be reduced when decisions are made. They start from the hypothesis that the way of being of each person is closely related to this reduction of value (devaluation) and could be different in young adults with and without ADHD.

300 volunteers in three years

Over the course of three years, 300 volunteers will participate , 150 with a diagnosis of the disorder and the rest without. They will carry out questionnaires and computer tasks to measure this facet of their personality. César Soutullo, from the department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology of the Clínica Universidad de Navarra and team member, points out that "ADHD is linked to a poorer quality of life for those who suffer from it and the people around them". That is why he claims that "limiting its impact on adults should be a challenge of mental health programs".

He explains that the findings of the research "could provide guidelines on how the disorder influences the lives of those diagnosed and how to overcome difficulties on a day-to-day basis so that they can reach their full potential."

The project is part of the group 'Mind-brain' of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) of the University of Navarra and is funded by the Ministry of Economics and Competitiveness of the Government of Spain. Experts from the School of Education and Psychology and the Clínica Universidad de Navarra; the Navarra Health Service-Osasunbidea and the University of Southampton (UK) are collaborating.