Monitor on Psychology - November 2011 - (Page 56)

clinician he was if children with concussions weren’t coming in for care in the first place. Understanding of these injuries was seriously lacking, he says — even among physicians and other health professionals. Armed with funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Gioia and collaborators developed a series of toolkits designed to educate physicians, schools and those involved in youth and high school sports. Gioia was one of the primary authors of the “Heads Up: Brain Injury in Your Practice” toolkit, which includes a standardized form for evaluating acute concussion plus a care plan. The toolkits and other materials are available at www.cdc. gov/concussion, where there are also a list of frequently asked questions and a video aimed at coaches and parents. Coaches Deconstructing masculinity in college football players can also order a sticker designed to go on the back of a clipboard, which lays out signs of concussion and a response plan. Gioia’s latest project is a smartphone app that walks parents, coaches and anyone else through what they should do if they suspect a child has a concussion. The “Concussion Recognition and Response” app even logs the users’ responses, so that information can be emailed to parents or the child’s pediatrician. “We’re not asking you to diagnose; we’re asking you to respond,” says Gioia. “It’s like calling 911 if a friend starts to breathe heavily, sweat profusely and clutch his chest. You and I aren’t qualified to diagnose a heart attack, but we can recognize possible signs and take action.” Gioia has also joined with former San Francisco 49er Steve Young in a Safe Kids webcast on sports safety, available at www. safekids.org/safety-basics/safety-guide/sports-safety-guide/ webcast. Concussion in the classroom These days Gioia’s message has a new twist: Sometimes it’s not enough just to pull kids off the soccer field or basketball court after they’ve had a blow to their heads. In some cases, kids may need to take a time-out on academics, too. In one study, which he’s preparing for publication, he and his colleagues found that almost 90 percent of patients with concussions reported that their symptoms worsened when they went back to school. Exerting their brains too soon after their injuries made their headaches worse, tired them out and left them irritable and unable to concentrate. In another study, the researchers found that math is the hardest subject to manage post-concussion. The more students continue to over-exert their brains, says Gioia, the more likely they are to worsen their symptoms and delay their recovery. “I tell people it’s like jumping up and down on a bad knee,” says Gioia, who began his career as a school psychologist. “If you do that day in and day out, you’re not going to allow that knee to recover.” These findings underscore the importance of focusing not just on helping student athletes get back in the game but also managing their return to school very carefully, says Gioia. Schools need to understand concussion and how it can affect academic performance and then put appropriate supports in place, he says. Depending on the severity of the injury, says Gioia, parents should consider keeping their children out of school for a day or two and monitoring kids at home to see how well they can manage basic activities. If they’re sleeping 12 hours a day or can’t concentrate for more than a few minutes, says Gioia, they should not go back to school. Once children do return, teachers should allow them to put their heads down on their desks or take breaks during class. For more serious cases, home- or hospital-based instruction might be required. M o n i to r o n p s yc h o l o g y • n ov e M b e r 2 0 1 1 When it comes to young athletes and football, much of the media attention focuses on the risk of concussion.What’s less discussed are the ideas about masculinity that undergird the sport. Now a special section of the journal Psychology of Men and Masculinity attempts to change that. Published in October, the special section features three articles from researchers based at the University of Indiana who explore various aspects of masculinity among college football players. In the first paper, the researchers find that — contrary to stereotypes — crying can be acceptable behavior for college football players under certain circumstances. The second paper explores the ways that players express emotions and affection toward other men, while the third examines the drive for muscularity among players. These findings could help psychologists develop interventions to help “normalize” the expression of emotion and reduce players’ aggression — especially helmet-to-helmet hits in which players purposely attempt to give opponents concussions, says journal editor Ronald F. Levant, EdD, a psychology professor at the University of Akron and a past president of APA. “Football is the poster child for aggressivity,” says Levant. “Studying college football players in relation to their endorsement of various masculinity constructs might help us reduce some of that needless aggression.” —R.A. ClAy 56 http://www.cdc.gov/concussion http://www.cdc.gov/concussion http://www.safekids.org/safety-basics/safety-guide/sports-safety-guide/webcast http://www.safekids.org/safety-basics/safety-guide/sports-safety-guide/webcast http://www.safekids.org/safety-basics/safety-guide/sports-safety-guide/webcast

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - November 2011

Monitor on Psychology - November 2011
Letters
President’s Column
Contents
Guest Column
‘Grand Challenges’ offers blueprint for mental health research
Documentary seeks to reach parents of LGBT kids
Treating veterans will cost at least $5 billion by 2020
Selfless volunteering might lengthen your life
Combat and stress up among U.S. military in Afghanistan
South Africa to host international psychology conference
Study uncovers a reason behind sex differences in mental illness
Navy psychologist gives a voice to combat trauma
In Brief
Psychologist suicide
On Your Behalf
Journey back to Heart Mountain
Psychology is key to pain management, report finds
ACT goes international
Judicial Notebook
Random Sample
Time Capsule
Questionnaire
Science Watch
Behavior change in 15-minute sessions?
Health-care reform 2.0
Perspective on Practice
Giving a heads up on concussion
Practice Profile
Searching for meaning
Inspiring young researchers
Aging, with grace
Public Interest
Thank you!
APA News
Division Spotlight
American Psychological Foundation
The man who gave Head Start a start
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - November 2011

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