ABSTRACT
Purpose: To determine the contributions of anxiety, depressive, and concussion symptoms and sleep quality to self-perceived recovery in adolescents with concussion.
Method: Adolescents aged 12–20 (n = 298) completed anxiety, depression, concussion symptoms, and sleep measures at an initial concussion clinic visit and three-month follow-up. At follow-up, they reported self-perceived recovery as percent back to normal.
Results: Injury-related factors alone did not predict self-perceived recovery (R2Adj =.017, p =.074). More concurrent physical, mental health, and sleep symptoms explained 18.8% additional variance in poorer self-perceived recovery (R2Adj Change =.188, p <.05). Physical symptoms (Bstand = −.292) and anxiety (Bstand = −.260) accounted for the most variance in self-perceived recovery.
Conclusion: Post-concussive symptoms, in particular anxiety and self-reported physical symptoms, seem to characterize protracted recovery. Self-perceived recovery as an outcome measure may provide a more holistic understanding of adolescents’ experiences after concussion.
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