Evaluating the validity of self-report as a method for quantifying heading exposure in male youth soccer

ABSTRACT

Assessing heading exposure in football is important when exploring the association between heading and brain alterations. To this end, questionnaires have been developed for use in adult populations. However, the validity of self-report in adolescents remains to be elucidated. Male youth soccer players (n = 34) completed a questionnaire on heading exposure after a two-week period, which included matches and training sessions. Self-reported numbers were compared to observation (considered reference). In total, we observed 157 training sessions and 64 matches. Self-reported heading exposure correlated with observed heading exposure (Spearman’s rho 0.68; p < 0.001). Players systematically overestimated their heading exposure by a factor of 3 with the random error of 46%. Area under the curve was 0.87 (95% CI 0.67–1) utilizing self-report for identifying players from high- and low-exposure groups. Thus, in this study, self-reported data could be used to group youth players into high and low heading exposure groups, but not to quantify individual heading exposure.

KEYWORDS:

• Subconcussion
• TBI
• neurodegeneration
• football
• soccer heading

Acknowledgments

This work was part of the study RepImpact and was funded by ERA-NET NEURON, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Flemish Government, and the Research Council of Norway. JG is supported by a postdoctoral fellowship of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO). The Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center has been established at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences through generous grants from the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Culture, the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority, the International Olympic Committee, the Norwegian Olympic Committee and Confederation of Sport, and Norsk Tipping AS. The authors are grateful to the players, coaching staff and research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary Material

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Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Flemish Government; The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research; ERA-NET Neuron; The Research Council of Norway.