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. 2025 Mar 7;22(3):393.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph22030393.

Transformational Leadership, Psychological Safety, and Concussion Reporting Intentions in Team-Sport Athletes

John Batten  1 , Matthew J Smith  1 , Janet Young  2 , Abi Braim  1 , Rebecca Jull  1 , Callum Samuels  1 , Alan J Pearce  3 , Adam J White  4
Affiliations

Transformational Leadership, Psychological Safety, and Concussion Reporting Intentions in Team-Sport Athletes

John Batten et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Background/Objectives: The present study examined the predictive relationships between transformational leadership, psychological safety, and concussion reporting intentions. Interviews were used to understand the impact of the coach and teammates on the team environment and how this might lead to greater concussion reporting in team-sport athletes. Methods: This study employed a mixed-methods explanatory sequential design. 233 team-sport athletes (n = 160 males, n = 73 females, mean age = 19.83 years, SD = 3.15) completed quantitative measures of transformational leadership, psychological safety, and concussion reporting intentions, while five participants (n = 2 males, n = 3 females, mean age = 18.40 years, SD = 0.55) were subsequently interviewed about their experiences. Results: Quantitative results indicated that transformational leadership predicted a psychologically safe environment (p < 0.001), and social norms for team-sport athletes predicted concussion reporting intentions (p < 0.001). Qualitative findings highlighted the important role that coaches and teammates play in creating an open environment that encourages concussion reporting. Education and awareness were also seen to further develop such an environment, while athletes identified several barriers to reporting symptoms of concussion. Conclusions: The findings from this study provide researchers and practitioners with preliminary evidence that can shape the design of interventions to support the development of a team environment that can promote concussion reporting and, thus, prioritise player health.

Keywords: concussion reporting; mild traumatic brain injury; psychological safety; transformational leadership.

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Conflict of interest statement

J.B. is a member of the Brain Health Advisory Group at the Professional Footballers’ Association. A.J.P. is currently a non-executive director of the Concussion Legacy Foundation Australia and is remunerated for expert advice to medico-legal practices. He has previously received partial philanthropic funding and equipment support from Sports Health Check, and partial industry funding from the Australian Football League, Impact Technologies Inc. and Samsung Corporation. A.J.W. is employed by the Professional Footballers’ Association, the trade union for professional footballers in England.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Hypothesised relationships between transformational leadership, psychological safety, subjective norms, attitudes, perceived behavioural control, and intentions to report symptoms of concussion.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Factors influencing concussion reporting intentions in team-sport athletes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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