Health Psychological Constructs as Predictors of Doping Susceptibility in Adolescent Athletes

Abstract

BackgroundDoping is a highly relevant problem in sport, even in adolescent athletes. Knowledge of the psychological factors that influence doping susceptibility in young elite athletes remains sparse.ObjectivesThis study investigated the predictive potential of different health-psychological constructs and well-being on doping susceptibility. The main hypotheses to be tested were positive associations of fear of failure, external locus of control, and ego-oriented goal orientation as well as negative associations of confidence of success, task orientation, internal locus of control, and performance motivation with doping susceptibility. Low levels of well-being are furthermore expected to be associated with doping susceptibility.MethodsWithin this cross-sectional study, 1,265 Austrian junior athletes aged between 14 and 19 years responded to a paper-pencil questionnaire.ResultsPerformance motivation was a negative, while depressive mood, self-esteem, fear of failure and ego-oriented goal orientation were positive predictors of doping susceptibility. In addition, participants who were offered performance enhancing substances in the past were particularly susceptible to doping.ConclusionsThe study corroborates the predictive value of classical psychological constructs in doping research, initially analyzed in view of adult athletes, also for adolescents’ doping susceptibility.

The Susceptibles, Chancers, Pragmatists, and Fair Players: An Examination of the Sport Drug Control Model for Adolescent Athletes, Cluster Effects, and Norm Values Among Adolescent Athletes

“…The coaches in the Nicholls et al (2015) study believed that doping susceptibility was an important construct, which was linked to doping attitudes and would influence whether or not adolescent athletes would dope, so was included in the SDCM-AA. In support of this addition, both Barkoukis et al (2014) and Blank et al (2016) reported that doping susceptibility was a proxy for doping behaviors, when it is associated with positive attitudes toward doping. To date, however, researchers have assumed a concomitant relationship between doping susceptibility and doping behavior, without assessing this directly.…”

“…It is unknown why these athletes chose not to participate in this research, and this could raise issues regarding the validity of the data. The response rate of 88% compares favorably to other studies examining the psycho-social factors associated with doping, such as Giraldi et al (2015) who reported a response rate of 76.91%, but inferior to other research with response rates of 100% (Blank et al, 2016) and 95% (Mudrak et al, 2018). Although the sample contained more athletes from the United Kingdom, unlike many studies within the doping literature, our study includes athletes from multiple countries and across four continents.…”

Examining the stress-burnout relationship: the mediating role of negative thoughts

“…Literature has suggested that chronic stress leads to depression ( Risch et al, 2009 ), increasing hopelessness and suicidal ideation ( Glick et al, 2012 ). Furthermore, it has been found that depressed adolescent athletes are susceptible to doping ( Blank et al, 2016 ). Therefore, future studies should examine how athletes’ personal maladjustment and desire for change influence unhealthy behaviors, motivations, and overall well-being.…”

An evidence-based socioecological framework to understand men’s use of anabolic androgenic steroids and inform interventions in this area

“…Factors such as high drive for muscularity or muscle dysmorphia (Jampel, Murray, Griffiths, & Blashill, 2016;, holding masculine values (Keane, 2005), valuing traditional male roles (Kanayama, Barry, Hudson, & Pope, 2006) and low levels of self-esteem (Blank, Schobersberger, Leichtfried, & Duschek, 2016;Nicholls et al, 2014) have been associated with increased likelihood of AAS use. Other personal factors identified include a history of abuse or bullying (Dennington, Dillon, Finney Lamb, & Larance, 2008;Petrocelli, Oberweis, & Petrocelli, 2008), the tendency for risk taking behaviors (DuRant, Escobedo, & Heath, 1995;Pedersen & Wichstrøm, 2001) and moral disengagement (Judge et al, 2012;Mallia et al, 2016).…”