The recent increase in reports of drug-facilitated sexual assaults has caused alarm in the general public and prompted forensic toxicologists from across North America to address the toxicological issues surrounding this matter. The authors have developed recommendations and guidelines to inform law enforcement, medical, and scientific personnel of the requirements for performing successful toxicological examinations in cases of drug-facilitated rape.
The authors' aim was to examine the prevalence of (daily) dietary-supplement (DS) use among elite adolescent athletes and to differentiate use by different types of DS according to their function. Data were analyzed for associations between users of these DS types, sociodemographic, sport-specific characteristics, and opinion on the need for DS. In addition, sources of supply and information were examined. In the framework of the GOAL Study, 1,138 German elite adolescent athletes (14-18 yr) answered questions about DS. The data were analyzed to identify groups at risk for using DS after a classification by supplemental function. Of the young athletes, 91.1% reported DS use during the previous month. (Daily) DS use was significantly associated with sex, kind of sport, and the weekly duration of sporting activity. Furthermore, some athletes were required to use DS by their sporting organization. DS use was more likely in these athletes than in those whose sporting organizations had no such requirement. Overall, DS with short- and long-term supplemental function were mostly associated with the use of magnesium. However, DS with medium-term muscle-building function played an important role among daily users. The main source of information about DS was coaches; main source of supply was parents. Professional education is urgently needed, as 9 out of 10 athletes used DS, and strong positive opinions toward the use of DS were present, particularly in the DS users.
Playing hurt is a widespread phenomenon in elite sports that often goes along with using painkillers, disregarding medical guidelines, and hiding pain from coaches, teammates and medical staff. This paper theoretically conceptualizes the phenomenon of playing hurt as a sport-specific sickness presenteeism problem. To empirically analyse the willingness to play hurt, we refer to survey data from 723 elite German athletes, both male and female, in the sports of handball and track and field. Factor analysis, cluster analysis and binary logistic regression analysis are applied to reveal the athletes' cognitive representation of absence legitimacy and to identify athlete groups with varying levels of willingness to compete hurt. Our results show that subtle distinctions are made between different kinds of health problems. In particular, there is a high willingness to compete despite psychosocial complaints. Cluster analysis reveals two clusters: 'athletes conditionally willing to rest' and 'rest-averse and pain-trivializing athletes'. Athletes who perceive more social pressure to compete hurt, who have a higher performance level and who participate in handball, are more likely to be in the group of rest-averse and pain-trivializing athletes. The findings enhance our understanding of presenteeism and absenteeism in a highly competitive work context, and can contribute to the development of more target-group-specific health prevention programmes for athletes.
Background: Studies have repeatedly demonstrated the influence of physical appearance on behavior and treatment of individuals in work settings. A high proportion of obese individuals in the USA have reported perceived discrimination in the work place due to their body weight. The present review examines the specific kind, context and extent of a weight bias in work settings. Methods: We performed a literature search in the scientific databases PubMed and PsychINFO to identify studies which have investigated aspects of a potential weight bias in the occupational context. Results: There is evidence from self-report data, surveys, and laboratory research for a weight bias in five aspects of work life. Evidence shows that obesity is a general barrier to employment, certain professions and professional success. Obese individuals are at higher risk of encountering stereotypes concerning their work-related qualities and for general unequal treatment in the work place. Conclusion: Current evidence reveals a weight bias in several areas in the work place. The ecological validity of results is limited due to the predominant reliance on laboratory studies with student samples. Field studies are needed to examine weightbased discrimination in actual work environments as well as to uncover underlying mechanisms.
Weight-control behaviour is commonly observed in a wide range of elite sports, especially leanness sports, where control over body weight is crucial for high peak performance. Nonetheless, there is only a fine line between purely functional behaviour and clinically relevant eating disorders. Especially the rapid form of weight manipulation seems to foster later eating disorders. So far, most studies have focussed on adult athletes and concentrated on manifest eating disorders. In contrast, our review concentrates on young athletes and weight-control behaviour as a risk factor for eating disorders.An electronic search according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) Statement was performed using Pubmed, PsychInfo and Spolit. The following search terms were used: weight-control, weight-control behaviour, weight gain, weight loss, pathogenic weight-control behaviour and weight-concerns, each of them combined with elite athlete, young elite athlete, adolescent elite athlete and elite sports.Overall, data are inconsistent. In general, athletes do not seem to be at a higher risk for pathogenic weight concerns and weight-control behaviour. It does seem to be more prevalent in leanness sports, though. There is evidence for pathogenic weight-control behaviour in both genders; male athletes mostly trying to gain weight whereas females emphasise weight reduction. There is not enough data to make predictions about connections with age of onset.Young elite athletes do show weight-control behaviour with varying degrees of frequency and severity. In particular, leanness sports seem to be a risk factor for weight manipulation. Further research is needed for more details and possible connections.
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