Norms, Athletic Identity, and Concussion Symptom Under-Reporting Among Male Collegiate Ice Hockey Players: A Prospective Cohort Study

Background Many athletes fail to report concussion symptoms to coaches or medical personnel, putting them at risk for potentially catastrophic neurologic consequences if additional brain trauma is sustained prior to full recovery. Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine whether concussion...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of behavioral medicine 2015-02, Vol.49 (1), p.95-103
Main Authors: Kroshus, Emily, Kubzansky, Laura D., Goldman, Roberta E., Austin, S. Bryn
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Athletes
Athletes - psychology
Brain Concussion - diagnosis
College hockey
Concussion
Family Medicine
General Practice
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Health Psychology
Hockey
Humans
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Original Article
Prospective Studies
Social Identification
Social Norms
Sports injuries
Sports medicine
Symptom Assessment
Young Adult
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Summary:Background Many athletes fail to report concussion symptoms to coaches or medical personnel, putting them at risk for potentially catastrophic neurologic consequences if additional brain trauma is sustained prior to full recovery. Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine whether concussion reporting norms prior to the start of the athletic season predicted reporting symptoms of a possible concussion during the season, and whether this association was moderated by athletic identity. Methods Members of six National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 men’s ice hockey teams ( n  = 116) completed written surveys before and after the 2012–2013 collegiate ice hockey season. Results Participants who at pre-season perceived that “most athletes” were likely to report symptoms of a concussion were themselves more likely to report symptoms during the season. Athletic identity weakly moderated this association. Conclusions Perceived reporting norms may be an important target of interventions aimed at reducing symptom under-reporting among athletes.
ISSN:0883-6612
1532-4796
DOI:10.1007/s12160-014-9636-5