A Multitheoretical Framework for Assessing Performance-Enhancing Drug Use: Examining the Utility of Self-Control, Social Learning, and Control Balance Theories

Abstract

This research examines the efficacy of criminological theories for explaining variation in doping behavior in professional athletes. Self-report data were collected from a sample of 732 professional athletes from Iran. Regression models were estimated using theoretically informed measures to examine performance-enhancing drug (PED) usage. Results show that variables representing self-control theory, social learning theory, and control balance theory were statistically significant predictors of PED use and account for a sizable amount of variation in PED use. Findings suggest that criminological theory can contribute to our understanding of PED use by professional athletes, which suggests that sports regulators might benefit from examining the criminological and criminal justice literatures as they consider how to combat the sports doping crisis. The results also provide additional support for each of the theoretical traditions considered, demonstrating that these theories can be useful for examining noncriminal behavior (doping) and can be useful in non-Western contexts (Iran).

Antisocial Behavior in Soccer Players: Using an Integrated Mediation Model of Personal Control and Social Learning Theory

“…Scholars have used self‐control theory to explain and predict a wide variety of behaviors, including antisocial behavior (Cauffman, Steinberg, and Piquero, 2005; de Kemp et al., 2009; Laird, Marks, and Marrero, 2011; Özdemir, Vazsonyi, and Çok, 2013), violence and aggression (Denson, DeWall, and Finkel, 2012; DeWall, Finkel, and Denson, 2011; Jennings et al., 2011; Piquero et al., 2005; Sellers, 1999), and cheating (Bolin, 2004; Cochran et al., 1998; Mead et al., 2009; Smith, 2004; Tibbetts and Myers, 1999; Williams and Williams, 2012). In the context of sports, recent studies have also supported the notion that athletes with low self‐control are more likely to engage in deviant behaviors (Kabiri et al, 2018a; Kabiri and Donner, 2019; Kabiri, Shadmanfaat, and Willits, 2019). An example is the use of illegal performance‐enhancing drugs identified in athletes with lower levels of self‐control (Kabiri and Donner, 2019).…”

“…Risk‐taking, short‐term thinking, and impulsivity may lead these athletes to deviant behavior with minimal consideration of punishment (Kabiri et al, 2018a). Those with low self‐control tend to perceive low certainty and severity of punishment when taking performance‐enhancing drugs (Kabiri, Shadmanfaat, and Willits, 2019). No studies currently exist that assess the role of low self‐control on antisocial behavior in athletes.…”

“…This construct concerns the balance of perceived, experienced, or anticipated rewards and punishments of specific behavior (Akers and Jensen, 2011). Whether persons will refrain from, or participate in, deviant behavior depends on the balance of past, current, and future punishment and rewards (Kabiri, Shadmanfaat, and Willits, 2019).…”

“…In response to this dearth of research there is a need to assess antisocial behaviors in sport using a criminological approach. To this end, self‐control theory (Pratt and Cullen, 2000; Vazsonyi, Mikuška, and Kelley, 2017), control balance theory (Kabiri, Shadmanfaat, and Willits, 2019), and social learning theory (Pratt et al., 2010) have demonstrated efficacy in assessing criminal behaviors in a number of settings. These theories also have been used in explaining noncriminal antisocial, deviant, and risky behaviors (Albert and Steinberg, 2011; Auerbach, Tsai, and Abela, 2010; Laird, Marks, and Marrero, 2011; Liu et al., 2019; Reisig and Pratt, 2011).…”

“…Individuals with low self‐control, high deficit control, high differential associations with deviant peers, and favorable attitudes toward risky and antisocial behaviors are more likely to engage in noncriminal activities. Communication with deviant peers, low self‐control, and low self‐control over social and personal domains put a person in fragile and risky situations where temptations and situational provocations are high (Kabiri, Shadmanfaat, and Willits, 2019). The current study employs these theories in assessing antisocial behaviors in Iranian soccer players ( n = 397).…”