Screening Amazon's Mechanical Turk for Adults With ADHD

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Neurodevelopmental Disorders
• Online Research Methods

Background:

• Online platforms like Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) are increasingly used for participant recruitment.
• The effectiveness of MTurk for recruiting adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) remains unexamined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the utility of Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) as a recruitment tool for adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) research.
• To assess the prevalence and characteristics of ADHD among MTurk workers.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional online survey was administered to 6,526 MTurk workers.
• The survey assessed ADHD diagnostic history, current symptoms, demographics, and comorbid conditions.

Main Results:

• The prevalence of ADHD diagnoses and symptom persistence in MTurk workers aligns with findings from traditional "offline" samples.
• Adult ADHD diagnosis on MTurk was associated with being male, lacking a college degree, and higher rates of comorbid depression and anxiety.

Conclusions:

• Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) demonstrates potential as a viable recruitment platform for studies involving adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
• Further research can leverage MTurk for efficient and broad recruitment of this population.