TY - JOUR
T1 - The Impact of a Recent Concussion on College-Aged Individuals with Co-Occurring Anxiety
T2 - A Qualitative Investigation
AU - Greenberg, Jonathan
AU - Kanaya, Millan R.
AU - Bannon, Sarah M.
AU - McKinnon, Ellen
AU - Iverson, Grant L.
AU - Silverberg, Noah D.
AU - Parker, Robert A.
AU - Giacino, Joseph T.
AU - Yeh, Gloria Y.
AU - Vranceanu, Ana Maria
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.
PY - 2023/2/1
Y1 - 2023/2/1
N2 - College-aged individuals with anxiety are vulnerable to developing persistent concussion symptoms, yet evidence-based treatments for this population are limited. Understanding these individuals’ perspectives is critical for developing effective interventions. We conducted qualitative interviews with 17 college-aged individuals (18–24 years old) with a recent (≤10 weeks) concussion and at least mild anxiety (≥5 on the GAD-7 questionnaire) to understand the life impact of their concussion. We identified 5 themes: (1) disruption to daily activities (e.g., reduced participation in hobbies and physical activity); (2) disruption to relationships (e.g., reduced social engagement, feeling dismissed by others, stigma, and interpersonal friction); (3) disruptions in school/work (e.g., challenges participating due to light sensitivity, cognitive or sleep disturbance, and related emotional distress); (4) changes in view of the self (e.g., feeling “unlike oneself”, duller, or more irritable), and (5) finding “silver linings” after the injury (e.g., increased motivation). Concussions impact the lives of college-aged individuals with co-occurring anxiety in a broad range of domains, many of which remain largely neglected in standard concussion clinical assessment and treatment. Assessing and addressing these issues has the potential to limit the negative impact of concussion, promote recovery, and potentially help prevent persistent concussion symptoms in this at-risk population.
AB - College-aged individuals with anxiety are vulnerable to developing persistent concussion symptoms, yet evidence-based treatments for this population are limited. Understanding these individuals’ perspectives is critical for developing effective interventions. We conducted qualitative interviews with 17 college-aged individuals (18–24 years old) with a recent (≤10 weeks) concussion and at least mild anxiety (≥5 on the GAD-7 questionnaire) to understand the life impact of their concussion. We identified 5 themes: (1) disruption to daily activities (e.g., reduced participation in hobbies and physical activity); (2) disruption to relationships (e.g., reduced social engagement, feeling dismissed by others, stigma, and interpersonal friction); (3) disruptions in school/work (e.g., challenges participating due to light sensitivity, cognitive or sleep disturbance, and related emotional distress); (4) changes in view of the self (e.g., feeling “unlike oneself”, duller, or more irritable), and (5) finding “silver linings” after the injury (e.g., increased motivation). Concussions impact the lives of college-aged individuals with co-occurring anxiety in a broad range of domains, many of which remain largely neglected in standard concussion clinical assessment and treatment. Assessing and addressing these issues has the potential to limit the negative impact of concussion, promote recovery, and potentially help prevent persistent concussion symptoms in this at-risk population.
KW - anxiety
KW - college-age
KW - concussion
KW - qualitative methods
KW - thematic analysis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85147827052&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph20031988
DO - 10.3390/ijerph20031988
M3 - Article
C2 - 36767359
AN - SCOPUS:85147827052
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 20
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 3
M1 - 1988
ER -