A theory-based exploration of psychosocial factors influencing concussion health seeking intentions in college students.

Objective

This mixed method study examined how psychosocial factors from the Theory of Planned Behavior and Reasoned Action (TPB/RA) influence health-seeking behaviors after concussion, expanding from student-athlete TPB/RA research to assess the influence of psychosocial factors within a general college population.

Participants

Two hundred and forty-four students participated from a large Southeastern public university.

Methods

A concurrent nested mixed-methods approach involving closed- and constructed- response survey questions.

Results

Subjective norms (direct: B = .499, p = .002; indirect: B = .023, p = .046) and attitude (indirect: B = .034, p = .041) were significant predictors of intention to seek medical care after a hypothetical concussion. Open-ended responses were coded by anticipated post-injury behaviors. Only 36.2% of the sample indicated intention to seek medical care. The most common response (38.3%) was students would self-treat a suspected concussion.

Conclusions

Subjective norms and indirect attitudes are important to understanding how general college students seek care after a concussion, particularly how the influence of others are important in the decision to seek healthcare.