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Gender differences in concussion-related knowledge, attitudes and reporting-behaviours among high school student-athletes

  • Lindsay Sullivan EMAIL logo and Michal Molcho
Published/Copyright: October 24, 2018
International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health
From the journal International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health Volume 33 Issue 1

Abstract

Background/aim

Sport-related concussion is associated with various short- and long-term health consequences, especially among adolescent athletes. Yet, many concussions go unreported and/or unrecognised. The purpose of this study was to assess high school athletes’ concussion-related knowledge, attitudes, intentions and reporting behaviours, and to explore whether gender differences are evident.

Methods

A total of 435 high school athletes (52.2% female; mean age, 14.55 ± 1.67 years) participated in the survey. Questions assessed athletes’ knowledge, attitudes, reporting intention and reporting behaviours, in respect to sports-related concussion. Comparisons between male and female athletes were explored using Mann-Whitney tests and chi-squared (χ2) tests as appropriate.

Results

We found that 60% of the participants stated that they have played in practice or during a game (this season) with concussion symptoms. Males expressed more negative outcomes of concussion reporting and lower concussion reporting intention, compared to females. We found no significant gender differences in concussion-reporting behaviours.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that knowledge, favourable attitudes towards reporting and reporting intention alone are not enough to create an environment that encourages the disclosure of concussion symptoms. Health promotion communication campaigns, coupled with concussion education and awareness programmes, should be utilised to further highlight the importance of timely concussion management, and to create a culture in which the reporting of concussion is considered normative.

Keywords: adolescence; concussion; gender; Ireland; sports

Funding source: Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme

Award Identifier / Grant number: GOIPG/2014/914

Funding statement: This work was supported by the Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme [Grant number GOIPG/2014/914, Funder Id: 10.13039/501100002081].

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the schools, coaches and students who volunteered to be involved in this study. This study would not have been possible without you.

  1. Competing interests: We declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

  2. Contributions: LS and MM contributed to the formulation of the idea. LS acquired the data. LS and MM contributed to analysis and interpretation of data. LS and MM contributed to the drafting and revision of the manuscript, and approved the final version.

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Received: 2018-01-31
Accepted: 2018-05-27
Published Online: 2018-10-24

©2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

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  2. Original Articles
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https://doi.org/10.1515/ijamh-2018-0031
Keywords for this article
adolescence; concussion; gender; Ireland; sports

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Original Articles
  3. Awareness and practices of menstrual hygiene among females of reproductive age in rural Puducherry – a mixed method study
  4. Many hours of watching medical TV shows is associated with greater medical knowledge
  5. Spatio-temporal trends in the risk of adolescent pregnancy in Minas Gerais, Brazil, 2000–2015
  6. Sexual behaviour and its correlates among adolescents in Brunei Darussalam
  7. The relationship between anxiety and social support in male and female students in high schools in the southeast of Iran
  8. Cannabis and amphetamine use and socio-ecological (proximal and distal) factors among school-going adolescents in four countries in the Caribbean and four countries in South America
  9. Gender differences in concussion-related knowledge, attitudes and reporting-behaviours among high school student-athletes
  10. Determinants of overweight and obesity among urban school-going children and adolescents: a case-control study in Bangladesh
  11. Addiction to the Internet and mobile phones and its relationship with loneliness in Iranian adolescents
  12. Prevalence and associated factors for social phobia among school-going adolescents in a rural area of Puducherry, South India
  13. Self-efficacy of osteoporosis preventive behaviors and its predictors in Iranian adolescents
  14. Prevalence of pediculosis and its related factors among primary school girls in the north of Iran
  15. Risk behaviors in adolescence – a study in a Portuguese health unit
  16. Statistical analysis for the impact of smoking on the behavior and health of Qatari adolescents
  17. Risk behaviors screening in Thai adolescents with acute and chronic illnesses
  18. Prenatal and early life origins of adolescence sleep problems: evidence from a birth cohort
  19. Intake of fruit, vegetables and milk products and correlates among school boys in Saudi Arabia
  20. Determinants of early marriage among female adolescent in Indonesia
  21. Social health needs of Iranian male adolescents
  22. Radiation and its associated health risks: assessment of knowledge and risk perception among adolescents and young adults in Saudi Arabia
  23. What does social media have to do with health? A case study of Bangkok youths
  24. Determining the development of syntax in typically-developing Indian adolescents using a syntactic analysis package
  25. Prevalence of traumatic injuries to the anterior teeth among 3–17-year-old school children of Indore and correlating it with Kuppuswamy SES, occlusal relationship and ascertaining percentage of those seeking the treatment
  26. Impaired dynamic thiol/disulfide homeostasis in pubertal gynecomastia
  27. Can upper limb taping or exercises improve hand function, writing speed and self-perception of performance in adolescent school children?
  28. Hemihyperplasia/hemihypertrophy in adolescents: prospective international study
  29. Depression in a sample of Tunisian adolescents: prevalence, associated factors and comorbidity with anxiety disorders
  30. Predictors of sexual function in pregnant Iranian adolescents
  31. Spiritual belief and its link with potentially addictive behaviors in a youth sample in Switzerland
  32. Short Communications
  33. Violence depicted in advertisements on LinkNYC kiosks in Manhattan, New York City
  34. Major food groups contributing to sodium intake in school-attending adolescents
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