Risk-taking and the adolescent hemophiliac

To evaluate the clinical impression that hemophiliacs express a high level of interest in physical activities associated with a significant risk of major bleeding, a self-administered questionnaire was given to the 17 hemophilic adolescents 11-19 years of age in a state hemophilia program, and to 17 age-matched non-hemophilic adolescents. Scores for risk-taking attitudes, anticipated risk-taking behavior and their apparent likelihood of carrying out the behaviors were calculated for 23 activities. Compared with controls, hemophiliacs neither express greater risk-taking attitudes, anticipate greater risk-taking behavior, nor appear more likely to carry out the behavior. Hemophiliacs 15-19 years of age appear more likely to carry out the stated risk-taking behaviors when compared with younger (11-14-year-old) hemophiliacs but not when compared with matched older non-hemophiliacs. Risk-taking activites selected by hemophiliacs tend to be adaptive for the limitations imposed by their illness. The conclusion that hemophiliacs appear more likely to engage in risk-taking behavior as they get older, although they express no greater overall interest in risk-taking than do non-hemophilic adolescents, needs to be confirmed by behavioral observations as home care programs improve the activity potential of young hemophiliacs.