A - 44 Psychological Readiness to Return to Sport Following a Concussion

Abstract Purpose To examine varsity athletes’ psychological readiness to return to sport (RTS) following a sport-related concussion (SRC). Method Nine varsity athletes completed a modified ACL-RSI self-report questionnaire at four points of the RTS strategy based upon the 6th International Conference on Concussion in Sport consensus guidelines. The psychological readiness domains of confidence, risk appraisal, emotions, and motivation were measured on a 0–100 scale (e.g., 0 = not at all confident, 100 = fully confident). Results Between Step 1 (limited activity) and Step 6 (return to sport), participants reported improvements in confidence for returning to pre-injury performance (M = 61.43 to M = 93.33), likelihood of reinjury (M = 42.86 to M = 71.67), nervousness (M = 64.29 to M = 83.33), frustration (M = 51.43 to M = 70.00), fear of reinjury (M = 38.57 to M = 70.00), and motivation (M = 87.14 to M = 88.33). Notably, motivation (M = 87.14 to M = 75.71) and frustration (M = 51.43 to M = 41.43) worsened from Step 1 to Step 3, before improving at Step 6 (M = 88.43 and M = 70.00, respectively). In addition, confidence in playing without concern improved from Step 1 (M = 41.43) to Step 5 (M = 66.67) but worsened at Step 6 (M = 26.67). Conclusions Psychological readiness (risk-appraisal, emotions, motivation) generally improves throughout the RTS strategy. However, confidence in playing without concern declines after medical clearance for game participation, suggesting athletes may not feel psychologically ready to RTS despite graduating from the stepwise strategy.