[5] His memoir, Another Kind of Madness, was awarded Best Book in Memoir/Autobiography from the American BookFest in 2018, detailing the serious, stigmatized mental illness in his father and professionally enforced family silence.

[9] Subsequent discussions revealed a history of involuntary hospitalizations and other brutal treatments, fueling Hinshaw's lifelong passion for understanding vulnerable children and eradicating mental illness stigma.

[16] Contributions from the latter investigation include delineating the serious risk for self-harm (suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-injury) in girls with ADHD as they mature into late adolescence and early adulthood.

[23] The primary focus of his research is externalizing behavior dimensions and disorders, particularly ADHD; family, peer, and neuropsychological risk factors; mechanisms of change via clinical trials; and the stigmatization of mental illness.

Hinshaw's research is regularly featured in various mainstream media outlets including ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, CNN, Huffington Post, NBC Today Show, New York Times, Newsweek, Oakland Tribune, Psychology Today, People Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, The Economist, Time, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post.

Regarding his 2007 book, The Mark of Shame, Stigma of Mental Illness and an Agenda for Change, the New England Journal of Medicine review stated the following: "Hinshaw's skill as a writer cannot be overstated.

Regarding his 2014 book with Richard Scheffler, The ADHD Explosion: Myths, Medication, Money, and Today’s Push for Performance, Publishers Weekly called it "…complex, thought-provoking, and urgent.