Bannister, Julie (2021) Investigating the Relationship Between Concussion History and Current Cognitive Deficits in Former Professional Rugby League Players. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
This study investigated the current cognitive functioning of retired professional rugby league players in comparison to matched community controls and in relation to the number of concussions players reported sustaining during their career. Multiple sports related concussions (SRCs) have been linked to later life cognitive deficits and neurodegenerative disease with the assertion of a dose-response relationship. A quasi-experimental design was utilised to analyse archival data of player variables including years of play and estimated number of concussions along with scores from a cognitive test battery. Participants were 141 retired male professional rugby league players recruited through alumni networks and 36 matched controls. Independent samples t-tests revealed significant differences in the cognitive abilities of retired players compared to controls, with players scoring lower across several variables. One-way analyses of variance revealed that no cognitive measures differed significantly with the number of concussions they had been estimated to have sustained. These findings indicate that no measures demonstrated a dose-response relationship that would support the contention that multiple SRC’s were associated with persistent or delayed cognitive deficits in retired players. This study contributes to the understanding of the longterm cognitive consequences of repetitive SRC. Limitations of the current study and future research recommendations are discussed.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
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| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Adina Piovesana; Graeme Senior |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 21 Jul 2025 03:33 |
| Last Modified: | 21 Jul 2025 03:33 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | sports concussion ; rugby league ; retired ; neuropsychological |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52139 |
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