The Effectiveness of a New School-Based Media Literacy Intervention on Adolescents’ Doping Attitudes and Supplements Use

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a media literacy intervention targeting, for the first time, the specific topic of Performance and Appearance Enhancing Substances (PAESs) use in high-school students. Overall, 389 students (52% male) aged between 13 and 19 years (mean = 16.56 year; SD = 1.26) participated to a media literacy intervention (i.e., “intervention group”) while 103 students aged between 14 and 19 year (mean = 16.10 year; SD = 1.38) were considered as the control group (i.e., “control group”). In two separate occasions over the course of six consecutive months, students in both groups filled out a set of questionnaires which included measures of social-cognitive beliefs (i.e., attitudes, subjective norms, intentions) and a self-reported measure of retrospective use of doping (Yes/No) and supplements (Yes/No). Compared to students in the control group (Mean(time1) = 1.96; SD(time1) = 0.85; and Mean(time2) = 2.09; SD(time2) = 0.94), intervention students on average expressed relatively stronger attitudes against doping use over time (Mean(time1) = 2.2; SD(time1) = 0.85; and Mean(time2) = 2.05; SD(time2) = 0.82). Students in the latter group also showed a statistically significant decrease in self-reported supplement use (Use(time1) = 6.7%; Use(time2) = 3.8%; p = 0.05, McNemar Test). Interestingly, albeit marginally significant, students in the control group showed a relative increment in the self-reported use of supplements over time (Use(time1) = 4.9%; Use(time2) = 8.7%; p = 0.22, McNemar Test). Overall, the media literacy intervention investigated in the present study was effective in decreasing adolescent student’s positive attitudes toward doping use and in reducing the use of legal PAES. These findings supported the generalizability and the usefulness of a media literacy approach in the specific field of PAES.

The Implementation and Evaluation of a Media Literacy Intervention About PAES Use in Sport Science Students

“…The findings of Lucidi et al (2017) investigation were encouraging and overall suggested that high school students benefitted from the media literacy intervention, as evidenced by a decrease in students' positive attitudes toward doping use and in their reported use of uncontrolled PAES (e.g. supplements).…”

“…Within the framework of the scientific literature on media literacy, Lucidi et al (2017) offered the first effort in the design, implementation, and evaluation of a media literacy intervention focusing specifically on PAES use in sport settings. The goals of this educational program were in line with efforts in other domains of substance use, and the intervention focused on youth and on the possibility of assisting them in their views and evaluation of their performance and/or esthetic goals.…”

“…The second objective was to implement and to evaluate the effects of a doping-related media literacy intervention in a second sample of university sport sciences students. The media literacy intervention followed and extended the educational program implemented by Lucidi et al (2017). The study overall focused on university sport sciences students, as they might be at risk for doping use (see Thevis et al, 2008) and, at the same time, might in their professional life have a critical educational role (e.g.…”

“…Students' positive attitudes toward PAES use. The measurement of this variable relied on a validated set of items (Lucidi et al, 2008(Lucidi et al, , 2017Zelli et al, 2010;Mallia et al, 2013) which asked students to express to what extent their "use of PAES would be. useless/useful, foolish/wise, undesirable/desirable, negative/positive, harmful/beneficial, and advantageous/disadvantageous".…”

“…The intervention design overall followed the same structure of Lucidi et al (2017) intervention with high school students. The intervention comprised of twelve 90-min sessions and primarily relied on four experts (a sport psychologist, a communication expert, a pharmacologist, and a retired top-level athlete), each of whom led two intervention sessions with the sport science students across the four university sites of the study.…”