Randomized Feedback About Diagnosis Influences Statistical and Clinical Significance of Self-Report ADHD Assessment in Adults

Objective: An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that feedback about an ADHD diagnosis influences how a nonclinical sample scores on the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) screener. Method: A total of 54 participants who scored below clinical significance on the ASRS in a pretest, that is, marked fewer than 4 of 6 items found to be most predictive of symptoms consistent with clinical diagnosis of adult ADHD, completed the assessment again 1 week later in a posttest with “negative,” “positive,” or no feedback written on the posttest to indicate how participants scored on the pretest. Results: In all, 8 of 10 participants who scored in the clinical significance range for ADHD in the posttest were those who received positive feedback. Scores for the positive feedback group increased most from pretest to posttest for inattentive domain items (R2 =.19). Conclusion: Patient beliefs prior to a diagnostic screening can influence ASRS self-report ratings.