A survey questionnaire composed of 25 statements about head injury and recovery was administered to 221 individuals at a large regional shopping mall. Survey items were categorized into domains pertaining to the use of seatbelts, the nature of unconsciousness, the nature of amnesia, characteristics associated with brain injury, and recovery from brain injury. An additional 8 survey items inquired about the sources from which people obtained their knowledge, extent of personal experience with brain injury, occupational status, educational status, residential status, and their use of seatbelts. Results indicate substantial levels of misconception about the nature of unconsciousness, amnesia, and recovery, but surprisingly few misconceptions about seatbelts and the effects of brain damage. These findings corroborate clinical observations of gross misconceptions reported in the literature. Specific misconceptions appeared with comparable frequencies across the age groups studied, which indicates that family education for patients in rehabilitation needs to target all members of a family, rather than a designated primary caregiver.

To evaluate the effects of disability type, job complexity, and public contact on hiring decisions. Design and Participants: An Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA; 1990) fact sheet and matched resumes with vocational and medical histories including chronic mental illness, developmental disability, closed head injury, and back injury were provided to 295 undergraduate business-related majors, who rated the applicants' suitability for 2 job positions and work shifts. Results: Findings indicated disparities in ratings of employability as a function of disability type. Paired comparisons yielded complementary findings, with effects of disability type and Disability Type ϫ Job Complexity, but no effects of public contact. Conclusions: Stereotyping and discrimination in employment decisions apparently persist, more than 10 years after the ADA.

The implications of these findings highlight the importance of relying on multiple vectors of information, be it objective, observational, self-report, or reports by others, when diagnosing ADHD and assessing factors related to potential secondary gain.

The CPT reliably differentiated between individuals with ADHD and both normal college students and individuals with psychiatric diagnoses but not persons with learning/cognitive disorders.

The postconcussion syndrome is a term invoked to describe a constellation of cognitive (decreased memory and concentration), emotional (increased irritability and nervousness or anxiety), and physical (increased headaches and dizziness) changes that are commonly reported following minor or severe head injuries. The first section presents the development and validation of the Postconcussion Syndrome Checklist. The second section describes the daily changes in symptom reports as a function of daily stress levels. A population of head-injured subjects and controls monitored postconcussion symptoms and stress across a 6-week period. The frequency, intensity, and duration of symptoms reported were correlated with daily stress levels as measured by the Daily Stress Inventory for both groups. Yet, the number of symptoms reported by our head-injured group did not vary significantly from the normal subjects. The data support models which predict that postconcussion syndrome varies with stress, but the evidence for a reduction in the cerebral reserve capacity after head injury was not supported with this population. Explanations for this finding are presented and implications of this research and directions for future research are outlined.