To understand misconceptions aout concussion in college athletes and non-athletes.

Formal education in concussion appears to be limited to individuals who participate in organized sports at the NCAA level. Overall, there is limited

research comparing athletes and non-athletes.

A minimally modified version of the ROCKAS-ST and modified demographics/symptom knowledge questions were administered to 312 college students during the 2018-19 academic year. Participants included college athletes, individuals who participated in high school sports, and individuals with no formal athletic experience. 

Current collegiate athletes demonstrated better knowledge than non-athletes, F(2,308) = 3.17, p = .043, but the difference was only 1 question out of 21 and the effect size was small. Misconceptions were evident across groups and included believing that a second injury allows the individual to remember information forgotten as a result of the first concussion (30.1% ) and that a concussion can cause an individual to forget who they are and not recognize others but be healthy in every other way (63%). While 97% recognized headache as a symptom of concussion there were also misunderstandings such as 28% of participants identifying breathing problems as a central symptom of concussion. In identifying which demographic factors other than collegiate athletics were related to improved knowledge, individuals who experienced a concussion demonstrated better knowledge (t(309) = -2.165, p = .04) as did participants who received education from multiple sources (F(1,309) = 4.712, p = .03, R² = .015). 

While collegiate athletes demonstrate better concussion knowledge than college students who have never been athletes, there continues to be much work to be done. Misconceptions abound and it appears that other than sustaining a concussion, having more sources of education may result in better knowledge.