Post date: Aug 6, 2014 8:00:56 PM
Larry Jasper, Christopher Koch, Jacob Lowen, Jeffery Schloemer, & David Kays
Abstract: It appears that youth football players are as likely to suffer a concussion as high school and college athletes (Kontos, Elbin, Fazio-Sumrock, Burkhart, Swindell, Maroon, & Collins, 2013) and that the effects of the concussions may linger (Moser & Schatz, 2002). This study was conducted to determine if youth football participants develop concussion-like symptoms over the course of a season. The Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment Testing (ImPACT) Test (Lovell, 2011), Color and Word Stroop Test (CWST; Golden, 1978), and the Nonverbal Stroop Card Sorting Test (NSCST; Koch & Roid, 2012) were used to assess cognitive ability. Youth football players ranging from third to eighth grade were baseline tested and then tested again at the end of the season. None of the football players were diagnosed with a concussion during the course of the season. Only verbal memory scores showed a significant decrease (t(17) = 2.34, p < .05, d = .55). Parents were also asked to complete a short questionnaire during the end-of-season assessment. The results from that questionnaire suggest that parent attitudes may be critical for testing compliance. Therefore, implications for concussion assessment are discussed in regard to neuropsychological measures and parent education.
Poster presented at the 2014 Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association