In addition to addressing these limitations

Not only do the current findings suggest potential benefits of preventative disclosure, but they also suggest risks for those who do not disclose, such as misattribution of the tics to another condition. Although previous research has shown that persons with tics are viewed more negatively, to date, the research has not explored possible misattributions related to the tics. The current study clearly shows that tics may be perceived as a key rings drug or alcohol problem when others are uninformed regarding an individual's diagnosis of TS. Such a misattribution could bring with it a host of other negative characteristics that are inappropriately applied to the individual.These results have significant clinical implications for health care providers as well as parents of children with TS. Although health care providers may rely on anecdotal evidence for the benefits of preventative disclosure of TS when they are consulted regarding the decision to disclose, prior to this study, no empirical evidence existed for these benefits. The results from the current study do indeed suggest possible benefits for disclosure of TS as well as risks for non-disclosure. This may provide the initial foundation for health care providers making recommendations concerning disclosure. Should these results be replicated in clinical samples, this line of research may ultimately aid individuals with the disorder and their families in the decision-making process.

Several limitations should be taken into consideration when interpreting the findings from the current study. Because the type and severity of tics vary significantly within and across individuals with TS, the single vignettes used in this study reflect only one of the tiffany many possible presentations of tics. It is possible that as the topography and severity of tics vary, so may the effects of preventative disclosure, thus potentially limiting the generalizability. Furthermore, although preventative disclosure produced benefits in this study, it is possible that certain participant characteristics, such as social philosophy, may impact the effects of disclosure. Thus, these results need to be replicated in other samples (e.g., other geographic regions). Additionally, information regarding behaviors obtained in analogue studies may fail to correlate with actual behaviors (Hintze et al., 2000). Despite the limitations of analogue designs, preliminary evidence for the positive effects of disclosure seemed warranted before proceeding to clinical samples. Thus, efforts should be made to determine how the results obtained in the current study generalize to a clinical population.

In addition to addressing these limitations, there are several areas for future research. Since disclosure is a complex and dynamic process that is difficult to examine in an experimental manner, future studies should explore the effects of disclosure using a wide array of methodologies and techniques that more closely approximate this process as it occurs in the lives of individuals with TS. Research should assess other variables that may moderate the effects of disclosure. One possible moderating variable that was not measured or controlled for in this study was prior knowledge or education about TS. tiffany engagement rings It is likely that if an individual is educated about TS, his/her response may be very different than those with no or cursory knowledge about the disorder. Future investigations should explore this issue and the impact of adding an educational component to preventative disclosure. Likewise, this methodology could be applied to other neurobehavioral conditions (e.g., ADHD). Ultimately, it is hoped that the results from the current study lead to significant clinical implications relevant to not only health care providers, but also to individuals with TS and their families.