Concussion in youth sports: A survey study assessing knowledge, attitude, & experience

Purpose Research on concussive injuries among athletes has increased substantially but is limited due to the lack of studies involving adolescent athletes, who experience the majority of sports-related concussions, and differences by sex and sport. The purpose of this study is to better understand how adolescents comprehend and experience concussions. Methods A survey assessing knowledge, attitude, and experience regarding concussion was administered to athletes ages 10–17 in the spring of 2016 and 2017. Data collection occurred during an annual sports physical event and was administered on laptop computers. Analysis included descriptive statistics as well as the χ2 testing of scores reflecting knowledge and attitude among participants by age, gender, and sport. Results In total, 208 athletes (50.96% male, average age 13.6 years, SD 1.84) completed the survey and (33, 16%) endorsed a history of concussion. They participated in 21 different sports and the majority (64%) received formal concussion education. While 98% understood that they were not allowed to return to play on the same day they were concussed, 50% indicated that they would continue to play with a headache sustained from a sport injury. When comparting the sports athletes played, attitude score trends were more positive among low-impact sport athletes when compared to high-impact sport athletes (p = 0.0291). Conclusions While a high prevalence of concussions and unhealthy attitudes toward reporting are found at the highest levels of professional and collegiate athletics, this study provides evidence that youth athletes are also vulnerable. This study and similar works on older populations suggest that a paradigm shift is likely necessary to change the culture of athletics beginning at the youngest levels with an emphasis on the responsibility to protect one9s brain over the need to get back in the game.