The purpose of this study was to generate a grounded theory that explained concussion reporting in youth sports from the perspective of the young athletes.

Participation in youth sports is increasingly popular with estimates of 35 – 40 million U.S. children playing an organized sport each year. Current concussion education has not been shown to be consistently effective.  The risk of concussion exposure is present in a number of youth sports. Much of the research surrounding concussion reporting has targeted older adolescents. A better understanding of the reporting process among younger athletes is needed.

A grounded theory approach was used to gather and analyze data from semi-structured interviews with soccer players ages 5 to 12. The sample consisted of eleven athletes (8 male, 3 female) from non-elite soccer leagues in two counties; Maricopa, Arizona and Santa Barbara, California.

Data analysis induced four conceptual categories; trusted environment, self-monitoring, being a player and incentive structure. The resultant theoretical model explains injury reporting from the perspective of young athletes. This study suggests that there is an incentive structure related to injury reporting, that young athletes have a good understanding of the incentives in relation to their perception of self as a player. Athletes demonstrate self-agency in terms of self-monitoring, however important adult others provide a trusted environment that makes children feel safe with their decisions.

This study suggests that a better understanding of the incentive structure embedded in the reporting process is needed to design effective prevention and education strategies. Important other adults such as parents and coaches may play a pivotal role in injury reporting among younger athletes when compared to adolescents.