Abstract Details

Title Relationships Between Self-reported Anger, Aggression, and Concussion History in Hockey Players

Topic Neuro Trauma, Critical Care, and Sports Neurology

Presentation(s) P3 - Poster Session 3 (5:30 PM-6:30 PM)

Poster/Presentation
Number 4-035

Objective To examine if self-reported competitive anger and aggression are predictive of concussion history

Background

Research has suggested a relationship between sports aggression and concussion, and there is evidence that concussion may influence neurological health. Therefore, being able to identify players at-risk of sustaining a concussion by evaluating their aggression during sport may be beneficial.

Design/Methods Sixty-two male collegiate club ice hockey players completed a reliable self-reported health history questionnaire and the Competitive Anger and Aggression Scale (CAAS). Players responded “yes” or “no” to having a history of diagnosed or suspected concussion. The CAAS is 12-item, validated survey used to evaluate anger and aggression during sport competition on a scale of 0-6. Separate binary logistic regression analyses examined the relationship between the CAAS scores and concussion history. ANOVA was performed to examine differences in CAAS scores based on the number of diagnosed concussions. The alpha level was set to 0.05

Results Thirty-three players reported a history of diagnosed concussion; 23 did not. Twenty-four indicated a history of suspected concussion. Aggression scores significantly predicted diagnosed concussion history (R²=0.129, p=0.023); anger scores significantly predicted suspected concussion history (R²=0.248, p=0.015). There were no group differences (p=0.435) for concussion (aggression: 21.6±7.6, anger: 25.4±6.2) vs no-concussion groups (aggression: 24.5±6.4, anger: 25.0±6.0).

Conclusions The results of this study suggest that there is a relationship between both self-reported aggressiveness and anger in competition with a concussion history, suggesting that personality characteristics may be associated with concussion injury risk. The CAAS may serve as a tool to identify those who may be more likely to sustain a concussion; however, as this was a retrospective analysis future studies must look prospectively at psychological inventories such as the CAAS, and injuries sustained.

Authors/Disclosures
Melissa S. DiFabio (University of Delaware) PRESENTER	No disclosure on file
Thomas A. Buckley, PhD (University of Delaware)	The institution of Dr. Buckley has received research support from Highmark Bluecross Blue Prints. The institution of Dr. Buckley has received research support from NIH/NINDS. The institution of Dr. Buckley has received research support from StateSpace, Inc.

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