Original article
Exploration of Awareness, Knowledge, and Perceptions of Traumatic Brain Injury Among American Youth Athletes and Their Parents

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.01.022Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

Although much effort is underway by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other organizations to highlight the seriousness of traumatic brain injury, including concussions, among young athletes, little is known about how these athletes and their parents view this injury and how much they know about it.

Methods

Online surveys were conducted with youth who participate in sports (n = 252) and with the parents of youth who participate in sports (n = 300) to explore the ways in which these audiences view concussion and messaging related to concussion.

Results

More than four out of five youth and parents reported that they had heard about concussions, although awareness was significantly higher for some subgroups, including parents of children 10–13 years old, and parents who reported using the Internet several times daily. Youth ages 13–15 years were significantly more likely to strongly agree that concussions are a “critical issue,” as compared with youth ages 16–18 years. Among parents, significantly more mothers than fathers agreed that concussions are a critical issue. More than half of youth participants strongly disagreed that their friends would think they were “dumb for caring about concussions,” with girls significantly more likely to strongly disagree than boys. When parents were asked to identify organizations they would trust as a reliable source of information for concussions, the most frequently cited organization was the CDC.

Conclusions

Results of this study demonstrate a high level of awareness about concussion among youth athletes and parents of youth athletes. However, important distinctions among subgroups of both youth and parents—such as by race/ethnicity, age, sex, and Internet use—suggest directions for future communication and research efforts.

Section snippets

Methods

Online surveys were conducted with youth ages 13–18 years who participate in sports, and with the parents of children and youth ages 5–18 years who participate in sports, to explore the ways in which these audiences view concussion and messaging related to concussion. Sample sizes were developed to split both youth (i.e., approximately 125 per youth athlete age group, ages 13–15 and 16–18) and parents (i.e., 100 per child age group, ages 5–9, 10–13, and 14–18) samples by age of youth/child.

Results

The online survey for youth was completed by 252 athletes aged 13–18 years. The parent online survey was completed by 300 parents or guardians of youth ages 5–18 who participate in sports.

Discussion

This article is believed to be one of the first investigations of the awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of concussion among American youth athletes and their parents. The findings are promising in many ways. For instance, this study demonstrates that efforts to raise awareness about concussion in youth sports are making an impact. Most youth in this sample said they had heard of concussions, believe them to be a “critical issue,” and do not believe their friends would think they are “dumb”

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through Contract no. 200-2007-20009, Order 0014. The authors would like to thank Sanda Pecina, of FHI 360, for her contributions to the project.

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