Motivational and social cognitive predictors of doping intentions in elite sports: An integrated approach

Abstract

Doping use is an important issue in both competitive and non-competitive sports, and poses potentially irreversible health consequences to users. Scholars increasingly call for theory-driven studies on the psychosocial processes underlying doping use that will inform subsequent policy-making and prevention interventions. The aim of the study was to implement an integrative theoretical model to assess the direct and indirect effects of motivational variables, moral orientations, and social cognitions on doping intentions. A randomly selected and representative sample of 750 elite athletes anonymously completed a battery of questionnaires on motivational and moral constructs, and social cognitions related to doping. Hierarchical linear regression analysis and multiple mediation modeling were used. The effects of achievement goals and moral orientations were significantly mediated by attitudinal, normative, and self-efficacy beliefs, in both lifetime ever and never doping users. Moral orientations indirectly predicted the doping intentions of never users, but did not predict ever users' doping intentions. Achievement goals and sportspersonship orientations influence doping intentions indirectly, through the effects of attitudes and self-efficacy beliefs. Sportspersonship (moral) orientations were relevant to doping intentions among athletes with no prior experiences with doping, while achievement goals and situational temptation were relevant to both lifetime never and ever dopers.

Personal and Psychosocial Predictors of Doping Use in Physical Activity Settings: A Meta-Analysis

“…We used self-efficacy to refrain from doping instead of perceived behavioral control as they both reflect efficacy beliefs. Further, past evidence has shown that self-efficacy to refrain from doping is a stronger predictor of doping intentions [16] and, in contrast to perceived behavioral control, a significant predictor of doping intentions in both users and non-users [94]. This model did not fit well [95]:  2 (3) = 288.98, p < 0.001, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.92, root mean square error of estimation (RMSEA) = 0.14, standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.04.…”

Self-Regulatory Mechanisms of Doping Intentions in Elite Athletes: The Role of Self-Determined Motivation in Sport

“…Scenarios have been used in previous doping research [13,35] because they do not require athletes to reveal their true behavior and can refer to various doping situations [16]. We based our approach on both the series of scenarios developed by Zelli et al [15] and the items used to measure doping intentions in past research [3,36]. The participating adolescents and young adults read five hypothetical scenarios concerning doping intentions.…”

“…To date, resistive self-regulatory efficacy has been shown to be an indirect predictor of sports cheating variables through moral disengagement in adolescents. In a recent meta-analysis [1], self-regulatory efficacy was a negative predictor of doping intentions [3,5,17] in the sports context. Last, Ring and Kavussanu [16] showed that doping self-regulatory efficacy was associated with doping intentions both directly and indirectly through doping moral disengagement.…”

“…The sports psychology literature indicates that doping intentions, with athletes considering the pros and cons of the behavior, have mainly been studied from the perspectives of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) [2][3][4][5] and self-determination theory (SDT) [3,4,6,7]. Other studies based on Bandura's [8][9][10] social cognitive theory have shown that affective and resistive self-regulatory efficacy are related directly and/or through moral disengagement to transgressive behaviors in sport [11].…”

“…In the specific context of doping, most studies based on the TPB perspective have included measurements of perceived behavioral control and situational self-efficacy (i.e., temptation), this latter being an important predictor of doping intentions and the strongest mediator in motivation-intention [3,5]. Although these measures of self-efficacy are interesting, they do not directly inform about the capacity to resist social pressure.…”