Term of Award

Spring 2020

Degree Name

Master of Science in Kinesiology (M.S.)

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Department of Health Sciences and Kinesiology

Committee Chair

Tamerah Hunt

Committee Member 1

Megan Byrd

Committee Member 2

Samuel Wilson

Abstract

Context: Lack of concussion reporting remains a problem as high school athletes report about fifty percent of all concussions. Purpose: The study sought to determine if there is a relationship between athletic identity and athlete’s intention to report concussions. Methods: The sample consisted of 78 high school athletes (m age = 16.19 + 0.88, 56 males, 22 females). Participants were administered the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS) and Intention to Report Subscale which served as dependent measures. The presence of AI was determined by comparing AIMS score to previous norms. A linear regression was used to determine the relationship between AI and intention to report. Regression analysis examined the influence of demographic variables on AI and intention to report. Finally, multiple one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted to examine differences between groups for AI and intention to report. All statistical analyses were conducted utilizing SPSS 25.0. Significance levels were set at an a priori 0.05. Results: Athletes in the study had an athletic identity as demonstrated by similar AIMS scores to previous norms. AI was not related to intention to report (p = 0.740). Age significantly influenced reporting intention (p = 0.20), as athletes get older their intention to report decreased. Athletes with a previous history of a “ding/bellringer” had significantly lower intention (p = 0.048), but previous history of concussion did not affect reporting intention to report (p = 0.118). Additionally, previous concussion education did not influence intention (p =0.612). Discussion: Adolescents do have an established AI as compared to other athletes. This study sought to find out if there was a relationship between AI and intention. No relationship existed between AI and intention; however, clinicians should not discount the influence identity may play in concussion reporting intention. Although AI did not influence intention to report in our study, other identities may be more influential. Additionally, incorrect terminology when discussion concussions, such as ding and bellringer, lead to decreased reporting. Clinicians should continue to work to educate athletes on the importance of concussion reporting and utilizing proper terminology.

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