Date of Award

9-26-2018

Publication Type

Master Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Department

Psychology

Keywords

Behaviour, Children, Concussion

Supervisor

Casey, Joseph

Supervisor

Abeare, Christopher

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Abstract

Sport-related concussion has become a “hot-button” topic in the media and in science. Increasingly, researchers are beginning to understand the association between concussion history and psychosocial adjustment in adults. But little research has been conducted examining this relation in children, and studies done have yielded discrepant results. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate this relation by using current internalizing and externalizing behaviour to predict past history of concussion among child athletes. Forty-eight (77.1% female) elite community athletes aged 11 to 14 years old (M age = 12.95) completed baseline assessments at the University of Windsor as part of a larger concussion management protocol. Psychosocial functioning was assessed using the parent-report version of the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC-3; Internalizing and Externalizing scales only), and previous concussion history was assessed via a demographics questionnaire. A binary logistic regression analysis using the BASC-3 scales as predictors and concussion history (0 vs. ≥1 previous concussion) as the dichotomous outcome variable indicated that the predictors were unable to differentiate between athletes with and without a prior history of concussion. Moreover, neither predictor significantly contributed to the model. These findings suggest that there is no relation between concussion history and current behavioural functioning in this population. Implications of these findings are discussed given the methodological and statistical limitations of the study. Future research should seek to replicate this methodology with more diverse samples to ensure greater generalizability of results.

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