This quantitative, ex post facto design was conducted within an outpatient concussionmanagement clinic at a large, public Southwestern university. The problem addressed through the study was that many student athletes experience sports-related concussions which can result in numerous disorders throughout the lifespan if not recognized and effectively managed. Related concerns underscore the importance of this investigation. The purpose of this study was twofold: to (a) compare the performance of student athletes, pre- and postconcussion, on a proprietary three-dimensional copying task; and (b) determine whether a correlation existed between performance on the postconcussion copying task and the visual composite score of student athletes on the ImP ACT concussion-assessment battery. The researcher acquired randomly selected data from the chairperson of the concussion clinic serving as the research site. Performance of 30 student athletes, pre- and postconcussion, on a proprietary 3-dimensional copying task was analyzed to determine whether a correlation existed between performance on the copying task and the visual composite score on the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImP ACT) concussion-assessment battery. Findings of the study were that the present version of the proprietary copying task, as a sideline assessment of concussion among student athletes, was not deemed statistically significant in any of the separate analyses central to the study: (a) the preconcussion performance, when compared to the postconcussion performance, was not significantly different; (b) performance of student athletes on the postconcussion copying task was not significantly correlated with the nonnative data for the visual composite score on the ImPACT; and (c) performance of student athletes on the postconcussion copying task was not significantly correlated with their visual composite scores on the ImPACT. Based on these collective analyses, the scoring system of the copying task is not effective as a sideline assessment. To address weaknesses in the scoring system, the researcher designed a revised version of the scoring system for consideration of the chairperson of the concussion clinic serving as the research site.
| Date of Award | Jan 1 2015 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Jennifer Gunter Reeves (Supervisor), Shelley Victor (Advisor) & Ronald Chenail (Advisor) |
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