Baseline Measures Of Depression Symptoms In NCAA Division I Collegiate Athletes With And Without Concussion History

Depression is a mental health impairment prevalent in college-aged individuals, specifically athletes, due to additional expectations and pressures to perform. Furthermore, collegiate athletes with a previous concussion history may face an increased risk of depressive symptoms. Research has examined the association between concussion history and depressive symptoms at baseline and throughout recovery in NCAA Division I athletes; however, this has yet to be measured using the complete version of the Beck’s Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) at baseline. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in baseline measures of self-rated depression scores between NCAA Division I collegiate athletes with and without a previous concussion. METHODS: Participants completed BDI-II and self-reported concussion history during pre-season baseline testing. The BDI-II is a 21-item questionnaire to assess the existence and severity of symptoms of depression, using a four-point Likert scale of 0-3. Demographic variables were described by means and standard deviations. A Mann-Whitney U test examined the differences in total BDI-II scores between concussion history and no previous concussion history groups. Statistical significance was set at p< 0.05. RESULTS: NCAA Division I collegiate athletes (n= 132; μ age=19.01±1.8) with a previous history of 1 or more concussions (n=33; 15 female; μ BDI-II= 1.97±3.7) and with no previous concussion history (n=99; 52 females; μ BDI-II= 2.94±5.8) were included. Median BDI-II scores for previous concussion history and no previous concussion history were not statistically significantly different (0.00 vs. 0.00; U=1525.5, z=-0.612, p=0.541). CONCLUSIONS: The current study found no differences of baseline measures of self-rated depression scores on previous concussion history in NCAA Division I collegiate athletes. Most collegiate athletes in this sample reported zero symptoms of depression which is in stark contrast to previous research indicating associations between concussion history and depression scores in a similar sample. This may indicate that depression is not a long-term effect of concussion, contrasting previous research. However, mental health referrals may still be necessary for athletes who report increased depressive symptoms following concussion.