Masculinity, optimism bias, and perceived pressure from stakeholders influence on student-athlete concussion reporting intentions and behavior

Abstract

Objective: Determine how a) masculinity, b) optimism bias, and c) perceived pressure from stakeholders predict concussion reporting intentions and behavior. Participants: Collegiate student-athletes (n = 369). Methods: Student-athletes completed surveys of Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory-46 (nine sections), optimism bias (optimist, neutral, pessimist), perceived pressure from stakeholders (six stakeholder sections), reporting intentions (symptom and concussion), and behavior (symptom and concussion). Four separate stepwise multivariate regression analyses were conducted. Results: A one-point increase in playboy, heterosexual self-preservation, being neutral or optimist compared to a pessimist symptom reporting intention decreased. A one-point increase in sport primacy, perceived pressure from athletic administration, being neutral or optimist compared to pessimist concussion reporting intentions increased 0.05, and decreased 0.23, 0.35, and 0.32, respectively. A one-point increase in violence and playboy increased the odds of being a “non-reporter” by 30% and 40%. Conclusions: Pessimistic views regarding concussion risks may result in greater concussion reporting intentions, however these findings did not influence behavior.

Keywords:

• Concussion disclosure
• care-seeking
• collegiate student-athletes
• mild traumatic brain injury

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank and acknowledge Dr. Curt Bay for his assistance with data analysis.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States of America and received approval from the University of Georgia Institutional Review Board.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Collegiate Athletic Association-Department of Defense Research Grand Challenge: Changing Attitudes about Concussions in Young and Emerging Adults under AWD00004388. Michelle Weber Rawlins has received stipend and travel funds from The National Collegiate Athletic Association-Department of Defense Research Grand Challenge: Changing Attitudes about Concussions in Young and Emerging Adults Grant. Julianne Schmidt was the principal investigator in receiving this grant, and too received travel funds.