Exploring student-athletes’ perceptions of their psychological readiness to return to sport following a concussion

Abstract

Athletes returning to sport following a concussion are deemed “ready” once they progress through the return to sport (RTS) steps. However, this process largely overlooks psychological factors involved in returning to sport. We used a constructivist philosophical position to understand 12 (n = 6 females, n = 6 males) formerly concussed Canadian university student-athletes’ perceptions of factors involved in feeling psychologically ready to RTS. Each student-athlete participated in two videoconference interviews (Interview 1: M = 103 min; Interview 2: M = 88 min). We identified six themes from the life-story interviews: confidence, fear, identity, pressure, support, and case-by-case. Subsequently, we used creative nonfiction analysis to write two composite stories depicting the athletes’ experiences returning to sport following a concussion. Pierre-Olivier’s story portrays a second-year university men’s ice hockey player who experienced a successful RTS following a concussion. His story focuses on his feelings of psychological readiness leading up to his first game following medical clearance. Andrea’s story portrays a women’s rugby captain who experienced an unsuccessful RTS following a concussion. Her story depicts a conversation with her doctor regarding medical clearance as well as interactions with a former teammate seeking advice about her own concussion. This study provides insights about the psychological factors experienced by athletes who are attempting to RTS following concussion. Our results highlight a need to better understand and more comprehensively assess the psychological aspects involved in returning to sport following a concussion.