A NOTE CONCERNING MISCONCEPTIONS OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC ABOUT BRAIN INJURY

A survey performed in South Louisiana disclosed that the general population held a number of misconceptions about the sequelae of brain injury. The authors cautioned that the respondents represented a convenient sample and were representative of only a small geographic region, and challenged others to conduct similar surveys in other regions of the country. The present study represents a replication of the Gouvier et al. survey in samples of individuals residing in Western New York State and Southern Ontario, Canada. The results of the current study are consistent with those reported by Gouvier et al., namely that misconceptions about brain injury are common. The impact of these misconceptions for individuals with brain injury are discussed.