Date of Award

11-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Graduate Department of Clinical Psychology

Abstract

Head injuries are a common occurrence among athletes, and research on concussions has seen significant rise alongside an increasing awareness of their symptoms and effects. Women’s involvement in sports has also rapidly increased in recent decades. However, a significant gap in research exists as to how the effects of head injuries may differ across sexes, particularly regarding executive function and emotion regulation. This study aimed to bridge this gap in research by investigating how the frequency of head injuries in both female and male athletes impact executive functioning and emotion regulation among current and former athletes. Current and former athletes were recruited at a Pacific Northwestern university and completed a 15- minute intake interview, 60 minutes of neuropsychological evaluation, and 15 minutes of self- report inventories. Male athletes demonstrated higher performance on several neuropsychological assessment measures than female athletes did post-injury. However, male and female athletes did not significantly differ on measures of emotion regulation. While this study offers some evidence of sex differences in executive function, limitations included a small sample size and limited data regarding TBI severity.

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