Personality Predictors of Time to Return to Play After Sports-Related Concussion: Analysis of Survey Data From an Undergraduate Sample

• Published in: American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation Vol. 101; no. 2; pp. 105 - 112
• Main Authors: Weishaar, Megan G., Stephens, Jaclyn A., Conner, Bradley T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 01-02-2022
• Subjects: Athletic Injuries - psychology; Athletic Injuries - rehabilitation; Attention; Brain Concussion - psychology; Brain Concussion - rehabilitation; Female; Humans; Impulsive Behavior; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Male; Personality; Proportional Hazards Models; Return to Sport - psychology; Students - psychology; Time Factors; Universities; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0894-9115; 1537-7385
• DOI: 10.1097/PHM.0000000000001851

This study aimed to address a gap in concussion literature by investigating the relation between personality and return to play. It is important to know that earlier return to play places individuals at higher risk of sustaining a new concussion after an initial concussion.
Participants were undergraduate students recruited from psychology courses in 2019 who reported medically confirmed sports-related concussion and medically advised return to play (N = 202). Participants completed an online battery in a supervised laboratory setting that included self-report survey measures, concussion history items, and behavioral impulsivity tasks. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyze time to return to play after participants' first reported sports-related concussion.
Results showed that one subdimension of sensation seeking, experience seeking, and two subdimensions of self-reported impulsivity, attentional and motor impulsivity, were positively associated with earlier return to play after a sports-related concussion. In contrast, higher levels of conscientiousness were associated with later return to play.
Despite a heterogeneous sample, significant relations were found between timing of return to play and sensation seeking, impulsivity, and conscientiousness. Because earlier return to play can heighten the risk of sustaining a new concussion after an initial concussion, it is important to identify characteristics-such as personality traits-that influence individuals' return-to-play behaviors.
Complete the self-assessment activity and evaluation online at http://www.physiatry.org/JournalCME.
Upon completion of this article, the reader should be able to: (1) Distinguish between personality traits that resulted in earlier versus later return to play in this sample; (2) Describe why certain personality traits might be related to an earlier or later return-to-play timeline; and (3) List practical ways that these study results could be used to reduce adverse outcomes related to early return to play.
Advanced.
The Association of Academic Physiatrists is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.The Association of Academic Physiatrists designates this Journal-based CME activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.