Early results!

Our preliminary look at the data shows that we chose our measure of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) traits wisely. The distribution of scores is almost exactly that of a normal distribution.

What is a normal distribution?

A normal distribution is an average distribution of values that, when plotted on a graph, resembles the shape of a bell. Normal distributions generally develop when the sample size or number of observations is very large. Many human characteristics tend to follow a normal distribution, for example, biological measurements such as height, weight, and life span. In a normal distribution, most values fall near the average, with only a small percentage of values falling far above or below the average.

In our sample, the number of participants reporting high levels of ADHD traits and the number of participants reporting low levels of ADHD traits are approximately the same; with the vast majority of participants reporting average levels of ADHD traits.

As you can see from this graph, our data follows a normal distribution. The majority of participants reported average levels of ADHD traits (as seen by the tallest bars in the middle of the graph), while fewer participants reported either high or low levels of ADHD traits (as seen by the shortest bars on both side of the graph).