Overall, public knowledge about concussion and different terminology associated with this injury type is substantially inaccurate. More accurate information is required to increase understanding.

Explicit and implicit attitudes toward people who have sustained traumatic brain injury (TBI) were investigated to determine if negative attitudes exist and if the terminology used (brain vs. head injury) exacerbated predicted negativity. Participants (n = 103) rated Tony (brain/head injury) and Peter (limb-injury) on 10 characteristics using a 7-point scale. Familiarity with brain injury was also measured. Implicit Association Tests (IAT) assessed potential negative bias. Tony (M = 36.84) was judged more negatively than Peter (M = 31.69). The term "brain" versus "head" injury resulted in more negative evaluations (Ms = 38.72 vs. 34.78). Participants familiar with TBI were more positive toward Tony than those unfamiliar (Ms = 34.98 vs. 39.80). Only those unfamiliar with TBI demonstrated implicit negative bias. Negative attitudes toward TBI are expressed explicitly with individuals openly endorsing less desirable characteristics. When people have more knowledge about or experience with brain injury, they are less likely to endorse negative stereotypes.

The present study examined the relationship between pretrauma variables (neuroticism, optimism, self-control, and pretrauma depression) and postearthquake adjustment (posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, sense of normality) 1 month and 3 months after 2 major earthquakes in Canterbury, New Zealand. Earthquake related hassles were examined as a potential mediator. Participants completed questionnaires preearthquakes (T1–T3), and again 1 month (T4; N = 185) and 3 months (T5; N = 156) postearthquakes. Controlling for perceived life threat and objective trauma severity, higher levels of neuroticism and pretrauma depression, and lower levels of self-control and optimism, were significantly associated with higher levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms after both earthquakes. Neuroticism, pretrauma depression, and self-control, but not optimism, were also associated with an increase in PTSD symptoms over time. All 3 personality variables were associated with sense of normality after the 2011 earthquake, again controlling for perceived life threat and objective trauma severity. However, when the relative contribution of the pretrauma factors was examined (i.e., all pretrauma factors were entered into the analyses simultaneously rather than individually), optimism ceased to be a significant predictor in all cases. Neuroticism emerged as a robust independent predictor of postearthquake adjustment. Pretrauma depressive symptoms and dispositional self-control were both independent predictors of PTSD symptoms after both earthquakes. Earthquake related hassles mediated the relationship between neuroticism and post-2011 PTSD symptoms, changes in PTSD symptoms over time, and sense of normality.

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