Dorien Bangma

FDM AND CURRENT SYMPTOMS OF ADHD | 203 retirement and less often used their savings account). Previous research comparing a clinical ADHD group with healthy controls, however, revealed that adults with ADHD have various problems related to their personal financial situation (e.g., more often debts, exceeding credit card loans or less often saving money; Bangma et al., 2019; Barkley et al., 2008). The discrepancy between the current and previous studies could be explained by the fact that previous studies included clinical samples which most likely consisted of adults with ADHD with more (severe) ADHD symptoms and problems in daily life than participants with symptoms of ADHD in a community sample. Besides a group meeting the self-reported DSM-5 symptom criteria of adult ADHD (i.e., ADHD group), two other ADHD groups were created based on the number of reported symptoms of ADHD: An Adult-only ADHD group meeting the self-reported symptom criteria of adult ADHD but not for childhood ADHD and a Subthreshold ADHD group reporting a subthreshold number of current symptoms of ADHD (i.e., 3 or 4 symptoms of either inattention or hyperactivity/impulsivity). Based on the results, no evidence has been found that individuals with a subthreshold number of ADHD symptoms have difficulties with financial decision- making, since no differences were found between the Subthreshold ADHD group and the No ADHD group with regard to impulsive buying and the use of financial decision styles. However, the Adult-only ADHD group showed inadequate financial performances on both the cognitive and affective domain of impulsive buying. Furthermore, the avoidant style was more often used by this ADHD group compared to individuals without symptoms of ADHD. This indicates that individuals with current symptoms of ADHD without the presence of retrospective symptoms of ADHD might have difficulties with financial decision-making, similar to individuals meeting the self-reported symptom criteria of adult ADHD. Previous research already found similar neuropsychological performances and personality profiles in individuals who met all DSM-IV criteria for childhood-onset ADHD and individuals having so-called late-onset ADHD (Faraone et al., 2009, 2006). These findings, and the findings in the present study, support the current discussion about the age of onset of ADHD and the possibility of a late-onset form of adult ADHD (Caye et al., 2017). Limitations. An important limitation that needs to be taken into account when interpreting the results of the present study is the lack of clinical information about the participants (e.g., about current or previous diagnosis of ADHD). Consequently, results may not be generalized to a clinical ADHD population. Current findings with regard to impulsive buying and the use of financial decision styles are, however, comparable with and seem to confirm previous research using a clinical group of adults with ADHD (Bangma et al., 2019). Furthermore, comorbidities, such as other (psychiatric) disorders (with the exception of symptoms of depression), and the use of medication were not taken into account in the present study. In a previous study, however, no evidence has been found that comorbidities are of influence on the financial decision-making capabilities of individuals with ADHD (Bangma et al., 2019). The influence of current and previous use of medication on the capability to make financial decisions is unknown. In present study, only a small number of participants (i.e., 4.3%) used either antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines or stimulants. Therefore,