Investigation of the Rosenbaum Concussion Knowledge and Attitudes Survey in Collegiate Athletes.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to determine whether the Rosenbaum Concussion Knowledge and Attitudes Survey (RoCKAS) is an appropriate outcome measure to assess knowledge and attitudes toward concussion in collegiate student-athletes as determined through validity and reliability testing.

STUDY DESIGN: Convenience study.

SETTING: The researcher recruited all athletic teams at a Division III National Collegiate Athletic Association institution.

PARTICIPANTS: Four hundred thirty-three collegiate student-athletes, 18 years of age or older, from a variety of sports took part in this study. As the validity of RoCKAS has never been established for the target population, this study randomly split respondents into 2 studies.

INTERVENTIONS: Participants in this study completed the RoCKAS during preseason meetings before concussion education. The primary researcher was not present during the completion of the survey to allow participants to answer honestly without concern of coercion.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A paper-based Rosenbaum Concussion Knowledge and Attitudes Survey.

RESULTS: The Concussion Knowledge Index (CKI) was distributed in 2 cluster constructs and identified variables of low and high difficulty. Multivariate statistical analysis of the Concussion Attitude Index (CAI) explains 68.79% of the total variance. The Confirmatory Factor Analysis did not confirm the hypothesis that similar constructs can be found between data sets ((Equation is included in full-text article.)= 207.902; consistent akaike information criterion = 391.550; root mean square error of approximation = 0.125, and goodness of fit index = 0.868).

CONCLUSIONS: The CKI is a valid and reliable measure in collegiate student-athletes. However, the results of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicated a poor model fit and improper correlations between attitude items. Therefore, the CAI may not be a sound outcome measure of collegiate student-athlete's attitudes toward concussions.