Subconcussive Head Injuries Negatively Affect Academic Achievement in Adolescent Males

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: To determine the effects of a subconcussive head injury on adolescent student academic achievement assessed by grade point average (GPA). <b>Methods</b>: The study utilised an experimental (subconcussive head injury, <i>n</i> = 45) and a matched pair control group (<i>n</i> = 45). Data were collated at baseline (i.e., the term prior to sustaining a subconcussive head injury) and the term the subconcussive head injury occurred. Subconcussive head injuries were preliminarily assessed onsite by a registered nurse and diagnosed by a general practitioner using established protocol. The average subconcussive head injury occurred 26.93 ± 15.22 days prior to the exam period, which is when all graded assessments/examinations occurred. All participants (<i>N</i> = 90) were adolescent males (age: 14.04 ± 1.48 years) in grades 7-12 (grade: 8.62 ± 1.51). An independent t-test was used to test for potential between group differences at baseline. Separate dependent t-tests were used to test for the effects of a subconcussive head injury on GPA in the experimental group and the effects of time on GPA in the control group. Standardised Cohen's <i>d</i> with 95% confidence intervals were used to quantify the meaningfulness of the potential between or within group differences. <b>Results</b>: Non-meaningful, non-significant differences were revealed for all variables between the experimental and control group at baseline. A subconcussive head injury resulted in a meaningful and significant decrease in GPA (<i>d</i> = -0.417, 95% CI = -0.720 to -0.110, <i>small</i>, <i>p</i> = 0.008); while a non-meaningful, non-significant increase in GPA occurred in the matched pair control group (<i>d</i> = 0.037, 95% CI = -0.256 to 0.329, <i>trivial</i>, <i>p</i> = 0.808). <b>Conclusions</b>: Our findings provide initial evidence suggesting the need for return to learn protocols to consider subconcussive head injuries.