In this study, we assessed the longitudinal effects of social-cognitive mechanisms on the self-reported use of doping substances and supplements among Italian high school students. In total, 1232 students completed questionnaires measuring various psychological factors hypothesized to influence students' intention to use substances. Three months later, 762 of the students completed the same questionnaires a second time and also reported their use of substances during the time between assessments. Overall, the percentages of students using doping substances (2.1%) or supplements (14.4%) were consistent with values reported in the literature. Analysis of the data showed that adolescents' intention to use doping substances increased with stronger attitudes about doping, stronger beliefs that significant others would approve of their use, a stronger conviction that doping use can be justified, and a lowered capacity to resist situational pressure or personal desires. In turn, stronger intentions and moral disengagement contributed to a greater use of doping substances during the previous 3 months. Doping use was also correlated significantly to supplementation. In conclusion, our results provide novel information about some of the psychological processes possibly regulating adolescents' use of doping substances and supplements. The results also highlight possible areas for future study and intervention, focusing on the prevention of adolescents' substance use.

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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.

A motivational model integrating self-determination theory, the theory of planned behaviour, and the health action process approach was tested in three samples in three behavioural contexts: fruit and vegetable, breakfast, and snack consumption. Perceived support for autonomous (self-determined) forms of motivation from parents and autonomous motivation from self-determination theory were hypothesised to predict intention and behaviour indirectly via the mediation of attitude and perceived behavioural control from the theory of planned behaviour. It was also expected that planning strategies would mediate the effect of intention on behaviour. Relations in the proposed models were expected to be similar across the behaviours. A two-wave prospective design was adopted. Three samples of high-school students (total N = 1041; 59.60% female; M age = 17.13 years ± 1.57) completed measures of perceived autonomy support, autonomous motivation, theory of planned behaviour constructs, planning strategies and behaviour for each of the three behavioural contexts. Three months later, 816 participants (62,24% female; M age: 17.13 years, SD = 1.58) of the initial sample self-reported their behaviour referred to the previous three months. Structural equation models provided support for the key hypothesised effects of the proposed model for the three health-related behaviours. Two direct effects were significantly different across the three behaviours: the effect of perceived autonomy support on perceived behavioural control and the effect of attitude on intention. In addition, planning strategies mediated the effect of intention on behaviour in fruit and vegetable sample only. Findings extend knowledge of the processes by which psychological antecedents from the theories affect energy-balance related behaviours.

Using retrospective self-reporting, rates of illegal and legal performance-enhancing substance (PES) use in the past three months among more than 3,400 Italian high school adolescents were obtained and estimated. The study focused on the extent to which these sociodemographic characteristics and illegal PES use were associated with adolescents' positive attitudes toward illegal PES use. Results showed that it is relatively rare for youths to report use of illegal performance-enhancing substances in the past three months, and that male, relatively older, and athlete students were significantly more likely to use illegal PES than their respective counterparts. The results also showed that illegal PES users and male, older, and athlete students held stronger attitudes favoring illegal PES use. Finally, results showed that those student athletes who reported having used legal PES in the past three months were 10 times more likely to also have used illegal PES than those student athletes who did not report having used legal PES