The impact of tic severity on the effects of peer education about Tourette's syndrome

Research has shown that the severity of tics has a negative impact on how persons with Tourette's syndrome (TS) are perceived by their peers Likewise, peer education has been found to decrease the negative impact of tics on others' perceptions of persons with TS. In the current study, the differential effectiveness of peer education was evaluated across mild and severe presentations of TS-related tics After viewing short videotapes of a male or female engaging in mild or severe tic presentations, participants were asked to complete 2 attitude measures along with a behavioral measure of social distance. One half of the participants received education about TS prior to watching the videotape and the remaining participants received no education. Results showed that persons who had received education expressed more positive attitudes toward the persons with TS than did those who had received no education. However, results failed to replicate an earlier study by Woods et al. [Woods, D. W, Fuqua, R. W, and Outman, R. C. (1999). J. Psychopathol. Behau Assessm. 21: 1-18.] by showing that tic severity did not produce a consistent negative effect on attitudes toward the persons exhibiting tics Finally, results showed that the male with a severe TS presentation gained greater social benefit from peer education than did the female with a similar TS presentation. The implications of these findings for future research and clinical practice are discussed.