Comparison of Knowledge and Attitudes of Concussion and CTE Symptoms Among College Students

This study aimed to investigate concussion knowledge and education among young adults, who are at some of the highest risk of suffering from mTBI. Student athletes, non-athletes and ROTC completed an online survey assessing concussion and CTE symptom knowledge and education. Students had adequate knowledge of global concussion (65.5% correct) and CTE (69.5% correct) symptoms, but incorrectly endorsed neurological, psychiatric and amnestic symptoms as correct. Concussion and CTE knowledge did not differ between men/women and athletes/non-athletes. When accounting for athlete status and sex, individuals with history of concussion had higher psychological symptom knowledge compared to those without history of concussion. Among athletes, there was a significant interaction effect between concussion history and sex, such that men with positive history of concussion yielded highest concussion recovery knowledge. Student athletes who primarily received concussion information from in-person concussion training and athletic trainers yielded the highest knowledge across domains. In contrast, primarily receiving information from a physician or healthcare provider yielded the lowest knowledge scores. Signing the NCAA pre-season concussion form did not affect concussion or CTE knowledge among athletes. ROTC students had comparable concussion and CTE knowledge compared to athletes and non-athletes, with the exception of lower recovery symptom knowledge. Finally, viewing the film "Concussion" (2015) yielded higher CTE knowledge scores but resulted in lower knowledge of accurate psychological symptom sequelae. This study underscores the importance of evaluating public knowledge of concussion and CTE and indicates the strong need for effective concussion resources for young adults, especially high-risk military and athlete groups.