Perfectionism and attitudes towards doping in junior athletes

Abstract

Recent theory and research suggest that perfectionism is a personal factor contributing to athletes' vulnerability to doping (using banned substances/drugs to enhance sporting performance). So far, however, no study has examined what aspects of perfectionism suggest a vulnerability in junior athletes. Employing a cross-sectional design, this study examined perfectionism and attitudes towards doping in 129 male junior athletes (mean age 17.3 years) differentiating four aspects of perfectionism: perfectionistic strivings, perfectionistic concerns, parental pressure to be perfect, and coach pressure to be perfect. In the bivariate correlations, only parental pressure showed a positive relationship with positive doping attitudes. In a multiple regression analysis controlling for the overlap between the four aspects, perfectionistic strivings additionally showed a negative relationship. Moreover, a structural equation model examining the relationships between all variables suggested that coach pressure had a negative indirect effect on attitudes towards doping via perfectionistic strivings. The findings indicate that perceived parental pressure to be perfect may be a factor contributing to junior athletes' vulnerability to doping, whereas perfectionistic strivings may be a protective factor.

Perfectionism and training distress in junior athletes: a longitudinal investigation

“…As in previous research (e.g., Madigan et al, 2016), the dimensions of perfectionism showed a significant positive correlation with each other. Furthermore, training distress at Time 1 showed a significant positive correlation with training distress at Time 2.…”

Adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism and athletes’ attitudes toward doping and anti-doping policy in sport

“…To date, according to our knowledge, two studies have raised a similar problem [7,15]. Zucchetti et al [7] studied psycho-social correlates of attitudes toward doping among Iranian athletes.…”

“…The authors of the abovementioned study concluded that athletes with an extremely high level of perfectionism are more prone to accepting doping in sport. In another study, Madigan et al [15] examined the relationships between attitudes towards doping and perfectionism in sport that, in contrast to the abovementioned study, was operationalized as a multidimensional construct. The four aspects of perfectionism were: perfectionistic strivings, perfectionistic concerns, parental pressure to be perfect, and coach pressure to be perfect.…”

“…High expectations of oneself and striving for perfection may predispose athletes to adopt a consenting attitude to the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs and methods. To date only two studies have attempted to assess the relationship between perfectionism and attitudes to illegal performance-enhancing measures] [7,15]. However, only one, which was published while the final version of present manuscript was being prepared, used multidimensional operationalization of perfectionism.…”

Motivation Mediates the Perfectionism–Burnout Relationship: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study With Junior Athletes

“…To measure perfectionistic concerns, we also used two subscales: the SMPS subscale capturing concerns over mistakes (8 items; e.g., "People will probably think less of me if I make mistakes in competition") and MIPS subscale capturing negative reactions to imperfection (5 items; e.g., "I feel extremely stressed if everything does not go perfectly"), and again standardized the scale scores before averaging them to measure perfectionistic concerns. Scores on the four subscales have demonstrated reliability and validity in numerous studies (e.g., Chen, Kee, & Tsai, 2009;Dunn et al, 2006;Madigan, Stoeber, & Passfield, 2016). Moreover, both are reliable and valid indicators of perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns (e.g., Gotwals et al, 2012;).…”