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Updated: Jan 18, 2026
A Multi-Modal Approach to Assessing Recovery in Youth Athletes Following Concussion
Published on: September 25, 2014
Concussion perceptions and reporting behaviours of community sport athletes
Megan Fielding1, Stefan Piantella1, Rich D Johnston2
1School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Australia; Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre (HBMRC), Australian Catholic University, Australia.
Objectives:
Sport-related concussions are a global health concern. Athletes consistently underreport sport-related concussions, and knowledge and attitudes about sport-related concussions vary between levels of sport competition and according to a range of factors. It is unclear how concussion knowledge and attitudes relate to reporting behaviours amongst community sport athletes. The current study aimed to i) investigate how concussion history and gender influence concussion perceptions, and ii) examine how concussion history, and knowledge and attitudes towards the injury influence reporting behaviours.
Design:
Cross-sectional design.
Methods:
Participants were over 18 years (n = 375; 174 woman, 194 man, 6 non-binary, 1 no response) and participated in community sport in Australia. Participants completed an online survey about their concussion history, perceptions, knowledge, attitudes, and reporting behaviours of sport-related concussions.
Results:
Hierarchical regression highlighted that those with a concussion history view sport-related concussions to be more serious than those with no concussion history, and that men were more likely to agree that their actions could control the effects of sport-related concussion symptoms. Logistic regression revealed no significant relationship between concussion knowledge and reporting behaviours (p = 0.081 to 0.960), but significant relationships between attitudes towards concussion and reporting behaviours were present (p ≤ 0.018). Lastly, significant relationships (p ≤ 0.040) between concussion history and reporting behaviours were found for seven of the 13 reporting behaviours.
Conclusions:
These findings highlight the importance of athlete attitudes towards sport-related concussions within Australian community sport.
