Study design Secondary psychometric analysis of cross-sectional previously collected data.Objectives Explore the floor and ceiling effects, convergent, and divergent validity of the International Spinal Cord Injury Basic Quality of Life Data Set (SCI QoL-BDS) in a sample of people with spinal cord damage (SCD) from different countries, with different causes (both traumatic and non-traumatic), and different settings. Setting Community dwellers with SCD in Australia, Brazil, India, The Netherlands, and USA, and inpatient rehabilitation: India. Methods Adults (>18 years) with chronic SCD with either traumatic or non-traumatic aetiologies living in the community (n = 624), in inpatient rehabilitation following the onset of SCI (India; n = 115) and able-bodied controls (Australia; n = 220) had the following data collected by survey or face-face interview: SCI QoL-BDS, demographic and clinical characteristics (e.g., age, gender, years post SCI/SCD, education, employment) and reference measures of quality of life, disability and depression. Results For the whole sample, there were no notable floor or ceiling effects, internal consistency was good (Cronbach's alpha = 0.84) and the corrected item-total correlations generally were acceptable (all > 0.3 except for in Brazilian cohort). Convergent and divergent validity were largely confirmed though there were some aspects of validity that were suboptimal. Conclusions Only minor psychometric issues were identified. This preliminary analysis suggests that there are no reason for concern about the use of the SCI QoL-BDS for clinical or research purposes, notwithstanding the need for further studies.

The trajectory of hope: pathways to find meaning and reconstructing the self after a spinal cord injury D ParasharStudy design: This is a qualitative study. Objectives: To evaluate and track the importance and the continuum of hope, and its trajectory, from the point of view of the individual with a spinal cord injury (SCI) and a rehabilitation psychologist. Setting: This study was conducted in the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi, India, and in patients' homes in the National Capital Region, India. Methods: Twenty individuals with an SCI were interviewed for the study at intervals of 2 weeks, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years since the time of the injury. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, in which the following theoretical research questions were investigated: 'What is the meaning, relevance and significance of hope in the individual's life following an SCI? Does the meaning and subject of hope change at different points in time?' Results: Three distinctive themes markedly emerged in the trajectory of hope: (1) Hope for a complete recovery; (2) hope for selfreliance despite the injury; and (3) hope for an optimum quality of life. The make-up of each theme, its significance and contribution to recovery and/or rehabilitation, while tracking the influence of time since injury, family and friends, as well as other agencies and pathways, are discussed. Conclusion: After sustaining a life-altering injury, hope becomes the force that spurs individuals. Psychologists and rehabilitation counselors need to focus on instilling realistic hope, goal setting, sustaining motivation, enabling adaptive appraisals and problemsolving. Further recommendations include developing and testing interventions against the context of the continuum of hope.

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Asian Indians are one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in the United States, yet little is known about their attitudes toward persons with disabilities and rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to examine factors influencing Asian Indian students' attitudes toward people with disabilities, using a conjoint analysis design ( N = 90). The design used a conjoint measurement where the variables included disability type, gender, age, education, and employment status. The results indicate that disability type was most heavily involved in the decision-making process, that attitude and preference formation were significantly affected by characteristics other than disability type, and that students' previous contact with people with disabilities affected the relative importance of disability type and age in attitudes and preference formation. The findings of this study are similar to those of conjoint analysis studies of other Asian and American students. Implications for rehabilitation counseling practices with Asian Indian Americans are discussed.

Rehabilitation professionals have long used work samples in assessing the ability and functionality of clients requesting rehabilitation services. Although there has been remarkable development in the type and scope of work samples, the incorporation of work samples into assessment has lagged behind that of other measurement systems. One logical reason is the prolonged time required to administer work samples. Despite this time commitment, work samples have usefulness and value for rehabilitation counselling and vocational evaluation. The purpose of this brief report is to provide evidence to indicate the usefulness of work-simulated work samples versus ability-predicted work samples. The authors discussed the advantages and disadvantages of both assessment approaches in demonstrating the benefits in vocational assessment for clients and professionals.