Random forest model to identify factors associated with anabolic-androgenic steroid use

Abstract

Background One of the types of doping that is commonly used by bodybuilders, is androgenic-anabolic steroids (AAS). The use of AAS besides violating sporting ethics would have serious consequences on physical and mental health statuses. This study aimed to determine the most important factors of using AAS among bodybuilders by prototype willingness model (PWM). Methods In this analytical cross-sectional study, 280 male bodybuilders were selected from the bodybuilding clubs in Hamadan city using multistage sampling in 2016. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of demographic information and constructs of the PWM was then used to collect data and random forest model was also applied to analyze the collected data. Results Behavioral willingness, attitude, and previous AAS use were found as the most important factors in determining the behavioral intention. Moreover, subjective norms, attitude, BMI, and prototypes were the factors with the greatest effect on predicting behavioral willingness of AAS use. As well, behavioral intention was observed to be more important than behavioral willingness for predicting of AAS use. Discussion The obtained results show that the reasoned action path has a greater impact to predict AAS use among bodybuilders compared to social reaction path.

Factors Associated With Anabolic Steroids Use in Bodybuilding Athletes Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior

“…AASs are synthetic substances related to male sex hormones that affect skeletal muscle growth and male sexual development (2). The use of AAS has also been shown to cause side effects such as infertility, sexual dysfunction, edema, hair growth disorders, acne, liver problems, testicular shrinkage, myocardial infarction, left ventricular hypertrophy, cardiac dysentery, pulmonary embolism (3,4), and personality and behavioral disorders (5). Bijeh et al evaluated the knowledge, prevalence, and side effects of AAS in athletes; they reported that lack of knowledge about the side effects of AAS, dissatisfaction with body type, the hope of winning competitions and receiving sports titles, pressure and emphasis of coaches, and attempts to attract the attention of others were the most critical factors related to drug use and AAS (6).…”

Predisposing factors of using cosmetics in Iranian female students: application of prototype willingness model

“…The second part included 42 questions on constructs of PWM, which had six sub-scales. The structure of the PWM questionnaire was adapted, so the results of other studies that evaluated health behaviors in Iran based on PWM were used ( Rahimi and Javadi, 2018 ; Mirzaie Alavijeh et al, 2019 ; Bashirian et al, 2020 ; Manoochehri et al, 2021 ).…”

Predictive Data Analysis Using Linear Regression and Random Forest

“…The findings indicate that, in comparison to the social reaction path, the reasoned action path has a stronger impact on predicting the use of AAS among bodybuilders. [4].…”