A review of psychological issues that may be associated with a sport-related concussion in youth and collegiate athletes.

Abstract

The physical effects of sport-related concussion (SRC) on the health and well-being of youth and collegiate athletes have been well documented. However, the psychological aspects of SRC in youth and collegiate athletes continue to be largely unknown due to scant research on the subject matter. The majority of studies to date that have examined psychological consequences of injury have done so with those involving the musculoskeletal system, revealing consequential findings. The following review paper provides a synthesis of the literature examining the psychological consequences and effects of SRC in youth athletes, while also discussing future research areas. This paper will review psychological issues such as mood disturbance, anxiety, depression, suicide, and negative coping behaviors that could be detrimental to an athletes' sport participation. In addition, social support and malingering will also be examined for their influence on motivation and recovery from SRC, including the psychological factors that may emerge from the injury.

Anxiety, depression, and symptom experience in concussed children and youth

“…The importance of psychological evaluation postconcussion in children and youth has been identified (Yang et al, 2019) including depression screening (Covassin et al, 2017; Stazyk et al, 2017). Early recognition of problems can lead to timely intervention and symptom resolution.…”

“…Early recognition of problems can lead to timely intervention and symptom resolution. We need to continue to explore the relationship between psychological symptoms in adolescents recovering from sport related concussions (Covassin et al, 2017; Wilmoth et al, 2019) in a prospective fashion.…”

“…Few studies have explored the link between concussions and psychological social sequelae including depression in adolescents (Covassin et al, 2017; Stazyk et al, 2017). In the present study, mean depression and anxiety scores were within normal limits; however, large standard deviations were noted.…”

Does Anxiety Affect Neuropsychological Assessment in College Athletes?

“…1 Anxiety is an emotional response to a stimulus (external or internal) and is characterized by a mixture of behavioral, cognitive, and somatic symptoms. 2,3 In recent years, depression has attracted increased attention, which has led to a surge of concussion-centered research, while anxiety has not received the same attention. The lack of attention to the anxiety-concussion relationship is problematic because of the complexity of concussion assessment and the effects anxiety can have on physical and cognitive performance.…”

“…[3][4][5][6][7] Initial research has begun to show that anxiety may have an effect on concussion symptomology, including increased symptom reporting and prolonged symptom resolution. 2 Although symptom reporting is an important facet of the concussion assessment, it does not address potential cognitive changes associated with concussion. 8 The concussion management protocol calls for comprehensive neuropsychological assessment, both at baseline and postinjury in order to detect potential cognitive deficiencies.…”