Collegiate student-athletes concussion knowledge and attitudes: what a difference a decade Makes.
Thomas A Buckley, Scott W Passalugo, Caitlin A Gallo and 3 others
PMID 38369869WHAT IT FOUND
Incoming college athletes showed a small increase in concussion knowledge but a large, safer shift in attitudes over a decade.
Clinicians should focus education on reporting behaviors and correcting myths about imaging, rather than basic symptom recognition.
Key findings
01Concussion attitude scores improved significantly from a mean of 52.9 in the 2010-2012 cohort to 62.2 in the 2021-2023 cohort.
02Concussion knowledge scores increased slightly from a mean of 18.5 to 19.4, but the effect size was small and likely not clinically meaningful.
03A large percentage of athletes in both cohorts incorrectly believed that concussions can be identified by brain imaging.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study compared two different institutions a decade apart, so changes in attitudes may reflect institutional culture or broader societal media coverage rather than just the passage of time. Participants were not tracked for prior concussion education outside the study setting, so the effect of high school or private league education is unknown. The results may not generalize to non-NCAA or Division I FCS athletes. Self-reported attitudes may be influenced by social desirability bias, where athletes report what they think clinicians want to hear rather than their true intentions.
Declared interests
The study was supported by an NIH grant. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that improved attitudes guarantee athletes will actually report concussions. The study measured self-reported beliefs, not real-world behavior during play, and the small gain in knowledge was not considered clinically meaningful.