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Do Risk Attitudes Differ across Domains and Respondent Types?

Author

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  • Lisa A. Prosser

    (Center for Child Health Care Studies, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston, Massachusetts, Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston, Massachusetts, lprosser@hms.harvard.edu)

  • Eve Wittenberg

    (Institute for Technology Assessment, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts)

Abstract

Objective . To evaluate differences in risk attitude across the domains of health and money for 2 types of respondents, patients and community members. Methods . Two groups of respondents, patients with multiple sclerosis ( n = 56) and members of the general community ( n = 57), completed a survey that collected information on risk attitudes and socioeconomic and clinical variables (e.g., disability level). Risk attitude was measured using 2 standard-gamble questions on money and 1 standard-gamble question on health outcomes. Multivariate regression was used to evaluate the relationship between risk attitude and respondent type (patient v. community), adjusting for covariates that could affect risk attitude. Results . The median certainty equivalents for money gambles were significantly different from and less than the expected value of the gamble for both types of respondents. Median certainty equivalents for the health gamble were not significantly different from the expected value for either group of respondents. For all 3 gambles, there was no difference in median certainty equivalents between the 2 types of respondents in both unadjusted and adjusted analyses. Conclusions . Risk attitude varied across domains but not by respondent type. Patients and community members were predominantly risk neutral with respect to health outcomes and risk averse with respect to money. Research on risk preferences on money outcomes may not be an appropriate proxy for risk preferences regarding health outcomes. Risk preferences may depend more on characteristics of the choice than on respondent type.

Suggested Citation

  • Lisa A. Prosser & Eve Wittenberg, 2007. "Do Risk Attitudes Differ across Domains and Respondent Types?," Medical Decision Making, , vol. 27(3), pages 281-287, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:medema:v:27:y:2007:i:3:p:281-287
    DOI: 10.1177/0272989X07300602
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Joseph G Eisenhauer, 2012. "Measuring Aversion to Health Risks," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 4(2), pages 96-107.
    2. Sophie Massin & Antoine Nebout & Bruno Ventelou, 2018. "Predicting medical practices using various risk attitude measures," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 19(6), pages 843-860, July.
    3. Pablo Brañas‐Garza & Matteo M. Galizzi & Jeroen Nieboer, 2018. "Experimental And Self‐Reported Measures Of Risk Taking And Digit Ratio (2d:4d): Evidence From A Large, Systematic Study," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 59(3), pages 1131-1157, August.
    4. Galizzi, Matteo M. & Miraldo, Marisa & Stavropoulou, Charitini & van der Pol, Marjon, 2016. "Doctor–patient differences in risk and time preferences: A field experiment," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 171-182.
    5. Maureen Cropper & Alan Krupnick & William Raich, 2016. "Preferences for Equality in Environmental Outcomes," NBER Working Papers 22644, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Mulligan, Karen & Baid, Drishti & Doctor, Jason N. & Phelps, Charles E. & Lakdawalla, Darius N., 2024. "Risk preferences over health: Empirical estimates and implications for medical decision-making," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    7. Castro, M.F.; & Guccio, C.; & Romeo, D.;, 2022. "An assessment of physicians’ risk attitudes using laboratory and field data," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 22/26, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    8. Emmanuel Kemel & Corina Paraschiv, 2018. "Deciding about human lives: an experimental measure of risk attitudes under prospect theory," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 51(1), pages 163-192, June.
    9. Micaela Pinho & Mara Madaleno, 2024. "Willingness to pay more health taxes? The relevance of personality traits and situational effects," Mind & Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences, Springer;Fondazione Rosselli, vol. 23(1), pages 1-31, December.
    10. Miraldo, M & Galizzi, M & Stavropoulou, C, 2013. "In sickness but not in wealth: Field evidence on patients’ risk preferences in the financial and health domain," Working Papers 31053, Imperial College, London, Imperial College Business School.
    11. repec:imp:wpaper:12579 is not listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

    risk attitude; patients; health;
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