Consumers with disabilities from State/Federal Vocational Rehabilitation programs were surveyed to determine the consumers'profile, apparel acquisition practices including preferred shopping site, knowledge of distributors of apparel for consumers with a disability and perceived economic risk, and the frequency and causes of apparel shopping barriers for consumers with functional limitations. Independent apparel selection decisions were made by most of the 625 respondents who rarely had someone shop for them. They purchased apparel more frequently at department, discount, and mass merchandise stores located preferably in shopping malls. While most of the respondents were unaware of retailers of functional apparel, they were willing to spend more for such apparel. Women had more difficulty than men with architectural barriers. Major obstacles were fitting rooms, space between aisles, restrooms, steps, traffic routes through stores, curbs, and merchandise location.

SYNOPSISObjective. The objective of this study was to describe fatal cases of traumatic brain injury (TBI) among West Virginia residents.Methods. The authors analyzed data from the National Center for Health Statistics Multiple Cause of Death tapes for the period 1989-1998. They compared West Virginia's annualized average TBI death rate with the rates of other states and with the rate among U.S. residents for the same period. U.S. Bureau of Census population estimates were used as denominators.Results. A total of 4,416 TBI deaths occurred in West Virginia in 1989-1998, for an annual average death rate of 23.6 per 100,000 population. From 1989 to 1998, TBI death rates declined 5% (pϭ0.4042). Seventy-five percent (nϭ3,315) of fatalities occurred among men. Adults Ն65 years of age accounted for the highest percentage of fatal injuries (nϭ1,135). The leading external causes of fatal TBI were: firearm-related (39% of reported fatalities), motor vehicles-related (34%), and fallrelated (10%). Firearm-related TBI became the leading cause of TBI fatalities in 1991, surpassing motor vehicle-related TBI. Seventy-five percent of firearm-related TBI deaths were suicides (nϭ1,302). West Virginia's TBI death rate (23.6 per 100,000) was higher than the national rate (20.6 per 100,000). In 23 states, the average TBI death rates over the 10-year period were higher than West Virginia's. Whereas modest declines in TBI death rates occurred for motor vehicle-related and firearm-related causes in West Virginia, a concomitant 38% increase occurred in the fall-related TBI death rate during the decade.Conclusion. Data presented in this report can be used to develop targeted prevention programs in West Virginia.

The interrelationships among locus of control, attitudes toward the poor, attitudes toward the supervisor, job satisfaction, and the performance ratings of practicing rehabilitation counselors were studied. Ninety counselors were surveyed with a battery of attitude questionnaires. Results indicate that counselors with an internal orientation have more positive attitudes toward the poor than counselors with an external orientation. It was further observed that internally oriented counselors received higher performance ratings than externally oriented counselors. Finally, it was found that internal orientation was associated with higher job morale, greater job satisfaction, and more positive attitudes toward supervisors. Implications of the findings are discussed in the context of client-counselor relationships and of the consequence that these data may have in counselor preservice and inservice training.The present study investigates variables that are of potential significance in vocational rehabilitation. These variables are attitudes toward the poor and internalexternal locus of control, as defined by Rotter (1966).Recent literature (MacDonald, 1971) has called attention to the relevance of Rotter's internal-external locus of control construct to the rehabilitation process. According to Rotter, those who have an external-control orientation ("externals", as opposed to "internals") believe that their lives are controlled by fate, chance, luck, or powerful others. Consequently, externals do not try to better their circumstances, despite the fact that they may be motivated to do so.Various research studies have shown that externals are less open to remedial programs than are internals. For example,

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A poverty scale designed to measure attitudes toward the poor was administered to 104 disadvantaged youths from rural Appalachia. 55 Ss completed the scale for self and 49 Ss completed the scale as they supposed it might be answered by the manager of a large chain store. As predicted, Ss guessed that the manager would rate the poor more negatively than they would. Males viewed the poor more negatively than females, and for all Ss negative attititudes increase with social class, as roughly indexed by Ss' fathers' levels of education. It is suggested that this technique might be useful for assessing the degree to which the poor feel alienated from various groups, e.g., politicians, welfare administrators, social workers.