The development of a survey to examine knowledge about and attitudes toward concussion in high-school students

Abstract

The development of a new measure of concussion knowledge and attitudes that is more comprehensive and psychometrically sound than previous measures is described. A group of high-school students (N = 529) completed the measure. The measure demonstrated fair to satisfactory test–retest reliability (knowledge items, r = .67; attitude items, r = .79). Exploratory factor analysis of the attitude items revealed a four-factor solution (eigenvalues ranged from 1.07–3.35) that displayed adequate internal consistency (Cohen's alpha range = .59–.72). Cluster analysis of the knowledge items resulted in a three-cluster solution distributed according to their level of difficulty. The potential uses for the measure are described.

Keywords:

• Concussion survey
• Survey validation
• High-school athletes
• Concussion attitudes
• Concussion knowledge

This study was part of the first author's doctoral dissertation, which was completed at Penn State University. It was partially funded by the Penn State University College of Liberal Arts Research and Graduate Studies Office, the Pennsylvania State Education Association, and the Penn State University Department of Psychology. The authors wish to thank the high schools and their administrators who participated in the project—especially Cathy Phillips at Peru High School. Finally, we would like to thank each of the undergraduate research assistants at Penn State University and Plattsburgh State University of New York for their dedication to this project.