Honors Thesis Archive

Author	Paige Erb
Title	Effects of Subconcussive Head Injury on Anxiety
Department	Psychology
Advisor	Dr. Nancy Woehrle, Dr. Jeffrey Brookings, Dr. Brian Yontz
Year	2015
Honors	University Honors
Full Text	View Thesis (242 KB)
Abstract	Pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability in children and affects approximately 322,000 children under the age of nine every year. Thus, concussion rates and outcomes in adolescents and young adults have received much attention in recent years. Separately from concussions, repeated subconcussive head injury is thought to increase risk for cognitive and behavioral decline. In particular, the relationship between subconcussive head injury and mental health requires study. For example, the effects of subconcussive head injury on ability to manage anxiety remain unknown. Previous work has shown that TBI can lead to deficits in ability to manage anxiety. The present study examined the relationship between subconcussive head injury and ability to manage anxiety. Subconcussive head injury frequency and severity was measured using a subconcussive head injury scale adapted from Marchi et al. (2013). Results revealed no significant correlation between scores on the anxiety inventory and scores on the subconcussive head injury scale. Findings from this study imply that an increased number of head hits does not lead to an increase of anxiety symptoms.