SSC Survey Results: ADHD And Rejection Sensitivity

A careful, pre-registered survey debunking. Dr. William Dodson's claim — echoed uncritically across patient communities and WebMD/ADDitude ('up to 99% of ADHD patients') — is that rejection-sensitive dysphoria (RSD) is a core, often-ignored feature of ADHD, despite scant formal evidence (traceable to Dodson; the prior two studies conflict). Scott suspects a Forer effect (the RSD screen reads like Forer's #1 statement). Using the SSC survey (8,077 respondents; 717 professionally-diagnosed ADHD) with a pre-registered analysis (and a commitment to publish regardless), he finds ADHD has the LOWEST rejection sensitivity of the four psychiatric conditions studied (autism, anxiety, depression, ADHD), though higher than no-condition; 58.5% of ADHD endorse it vs 46.2% of the general population — far from '99%.' Conclusion: RSD is a weak feature of any disorder, not specific to ADHD, so the 'fundamental to ADHD' framing is inaccurate. Beware Forer effects in symptom-beliefs that spread through patient groups without formal study. Scrupulous about flaws (self-report, the weakened single-question screen, selected sample).

Quality 68 · Strong. Strong, low (68). A careful, pre-registered empirical debunking of a widely-repeated patient-community claim, with a genuinely useful meta-lesson (Forer effects in symptomatology). Held to low-Strong by its chart-dependence, single-question measure, and niche subject.

Claude’s paradigm shift 48 · Moderate. Moderate (48). An empirical test/debunking of an existing claim plus the Forer-effect framing; the contribution is the data and the caution.

Real-world impact 2 · Minor. Minor (2). A niche contribution to the ADHD/RSD discourse; no real-world footprint.