CONTEXT: Self-reported symptoms (SRS) scales comprise one aspect of a multifaceted assessment of sport-related concussion. Obtaining SRS assessments before a concussion occurs assists in determining when the injury is resolved. However, athletes may present with concussion-related symptoms at baseline. Thus, it is important to evaluate such reports to determine if the variables that are common to many athletic environments are influencing them. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the influence of a history of concussion, sex, acute fatigue, physical illness, and orthopaedic injury on baseline responses to 2 summative symptom scales; to investigate the psychometric properties of all responses; and to assess the factorial validity of responses to both scales in the absence of influential variables. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Athletic training facilities of 6 National Collegiate Athletic Association institutions. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: The sample of 1065 was predominately male (n = 805) collegiate athletes with a mean age of 19.81 +/- 1.53 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Participants completed baseline measures for duration and severity of concussion-related SRS and a brief health questionnaire. RESULTS: At baseline, respondents reporting a previous concussion had higher composite scores on both scales (P 展开▼
