Concussion reporting behaviors in student athletes across sexes and levels of contact

Abstract

Context Sport-related concussions (SRC) are common in student athletes. However, current literature suggests that many athletes do not accurately report their symptoms. The under-reporting of concussion symptoms can result in an increased risk of further injury and an underestimation of concussion prevalence. Objective This study aims to identify perspectives on concussion reporting behaviors in student athletes across levels of contact and by sex. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Elementary and high school, college. Patients or other participants: 1126 female (52%) and male (48%) athletes, mean age 16.6 years. Main outcome measure(s): Standardized questionnaire on concussion reporting during a series of hypothetical scenarios. Results Student athletes participating in sports with higher levels of contact had more education about concussions, yet professed they were less likely to report a concussion. The most common reasons athletes chose not to report were ‘not wanting to miss the game’ and ‘not wanting to let the coach down.’ Minimal differences were found between sexes, with females being just as unlikely, or sometimes more unlikely, to report a concussion than males. Lastly, females playing contact and non-contact sports appear to be more concerned about not wanting to let their coach down than males. Conclusions Although perspective on concussion reporting behavior varied across sports of different levels of contact, we did not find any conclusive evidence of differences in willingness to report a concussion between sexes when compared within the same level of contact.