Personality Predictors of Time to Return to Play Following Sports-Related Concussion: Analysis of Survey Data from an Undergraduate Sample.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to address a gap in concussion literature by investigating the relation between personality and return-to-play. It is important to know that earlier return-to-play places individuals at higher risk of sustaining a new concussion after an initial concussion.

DESIGN: Participants were undergraduate students recruited from psychology courses in 2019 who reported medically confirmed sports-related concussion and medically advised return-to-play (N = 202). Participants completed an online battery in a supervised lab setting that included self-report survey measures, concussion history items, and behavioral impulsivity tasks. Kaplan Meier analysis and Cox Proportional Hazards models were used to analyze time to return-to-play following participants' first reported sports-related concussion.

RESULTS: Results showed that one subdimension of sensation seeking, experience seeking, and two subdimensions of self-reported impulsivity, attentional and motor impulsivity, were positively associated with earlier return-to-play following a sports-related concussion. In contrast, higher levels of conscientiousness were associated with later return-to-play.

CONCLUSION: Despite a heterogeneous sample, significant relations were found between timing of return-to-play and sensation seeking, impulsivity, and conscientiousness. As earlier return-to-play can heighten the risk of sustaining a new concussion after an initial concussion, it is important to identify characteristics - such as personality traits - that influence individuals' return-to-play behaviors.