ADHD comes with a lot of struggles and life disruptions. In fact, it’s typically characterized by these: wandering attention, impulsive actions, and disruptive behaviors.
In a new study, researchers have discovered that one of the upsides of ADHD is that teens with impulsive behaviors aren’t subject only to impulses with harmful risks. They’re also more likely to indulge in impulses that protect and defend others.
It turns out that the impulsive side of ADHD has a prosocial element.
Parenting ADHD
Parents of kids with ADHD know the struggles. Their kid might have difficulty staying in a chair and paying attention long enough to complete an assignment, or perhaps they’ve witnessed a few injuries from impulsive activities their child didn’t fully think through.
However, these parents will often be the first to tell you that their kid is being judged harshly for behaviors others find disruptive, even when those behaviors are beyond the child’s control, and that the judgment sometimes prevents others from seeing the child’s genuine nature, leading them to overlook positive attributes.
Maybe your ADHD child is great at math but hates writing out steps, or he jumps off porch railings but he’s always first in line to share.
For what may be the first time, a research team is examining one of the positive ways that ADHD teens make social connections.
The Impulsivity Comparison
Just over 100 teens, about half of whom have ADHD diagnoses, were asked to assess the likelihood of their taking various risks, and the results were published in The Journal of Attention Disorders.
The risks fit one of three categories: negative, positive, or pro-social. “Negative” risks include activities such as betting on an online game, engaging in a sport that is too advanced for one’s skill level, or not wearing a seatbelt. “Positive” risks include applying for a job or trying out for theater. Prosocial risks include helping someone who is ill or upset.
The research team started out with the knowledge that ADHD is associated with a higher prevalence of risky behaviors like substance abuse and skipping school. What they found could, especially if corroborated by larger studies, contribute to a shift in how we view ADHD.
Prosocial Risk-Taking
Crucially, the study showed that kids who are likely to engage in risky behaviors in one subset are also more likely to engage in risky behaviors in the other subsets.
In other words, kids who are more likely to try a vape or an unsafe bicycle trick are also more likely to take the risk of standing up to a bully on someone else’s behalf, or applying for a job that seems out of reach.
The answers suggested that kids who have attention disorders are more likely to speak up when someone else is being treated unfairly, and that there is a strong justice sensitivity they feel the need to act on.
Implications For Parents & Kids
Part of parenting ADHD is usually centered on trying to teach out that impulsive nature. Parents (and teachers and other adults) want their kids to learn to look before they leap, to take a breath and think before jumping into an action full force.
Tempering impulsivity is a necessary safety skill, especially in physical play.
However, this study suggests that parents could work on redirecting the impulsivity. For example, parents could try supporting behaviors that may be socially risky but have positive, prosocial outcomes, such as fighting for justice. As the report explained:
“It is valuable to consider that a potential upside to these negative behaviors might be that these adolescents may also be inclined toward more prosocial types of risk-taking behaviors. Clinicians as well as other adults may encourage and assist adolescents with ADHD to create opportunities to channel their risk-seeking propensity in a beneficial, prosocial direction.”
Important Caveats
This initial study involved a fairly small sample, and the data were collected through self-report. Further studies could involve larger groups and additional methods for examining behavior to obtain a more complete assessment.
The study authors also note that there was no clear delineation between overall risk-taking levels in their ADHD sample group and the control group, despite standing research that suggests ADHD teens are more prone to risk-taking behaviors.
They posit that their sample may not be fully representative for this reason and recommend caution until further studies can be conducted.
Despite these caveats, this early study suggests that some of the behaviors associated with ADHD can have more beneficial outcomes, and that there may be a means for helping teens redirect impulsivity into positive results.
