Academic Performance Following Sport-Related Concussions in Children and Adolescents: A Scoping Review

Mekala Neelakantan, Brinda Ryali, Maria Demma Cabral, Ann Harris, Juli McCarroll and Dilip R. Patel
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Mekala Neelakantan: Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA
Brinda Ryali: Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA
Maria Demma Cabral: Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA
Ann Harris: Department of Library, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA
Juli McCarroll: Department of Library, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA
Dilip R. Patel: Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 20, 1-12

Abstract: Sport-related concussions (SRC) are an increasingly common concern in young athletes, with long-term cognitive, physiological, behavioral, and psychological adverse outcomes. An estimated 1.1 million to 1.9 million SRCs occur per year in children <18 years old in the United States. The post-concussive state has demonstrated consequences in several domains, including athletics and academics, although much more research has been conducted on the former. The objective of this scoping review was to ascertain findings from published studies on the effects of SRCs on academic performance and quality of life of young student athletes. A total of 175 articles were screened within the PubMed and CINAHL databases, along with a Google search. Fourteen papers fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were analyzed in the review. Quantitative and qualitative data were collated and demonstrated the heterogeneity with which, post-concussion academic performance outcomes were measured; only 4 of the 14 studies utilized formal academic metrics such as changes in grade point average (GPA) or examination scores. While the results overall did show statistically significant implications on academic performance decline after SRC, it is clear that there remains a paucity of research determining the consequences of SRCs on academic performance in the school environment. Further research is needed to better understand how to implement accommodations in the student’s learning environment and guide return-to-learn protocols for student athletes following SRC.

Keywords: sport-related concussion; academic performance; quality of life; learning environment; accommodations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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