Doping Among Minnows in Ghana: Is Eligibility the Main Issue?

Abstract

Despite the use of drugs among amateur athletes linked to inadvertent doping, there is a gap in the literature about other factors that prompted doping behaviour. The present study examined if eligibility to participate in sports competitions is the main cause of doping among young athletes in Ghana. To achieve this, an interpretative qualitative research design approach was adopted. Purposive and snowballing sampling techniques were employed to recruit 10 former basic school student-athletes who admitted to using drugs to participate in school competitions. Semi-structured interviews were the instruments used to collect the data to answer the research questions. Thematic analysis was employed after the data have been transcribed verbatim. The findings of the study revealed that students take performance-enhancing drugs to “become eligible to participate in the competitions”, “to improve stamina”, and “gives them extra energy to perform without getting tired”. Again, it was found that the former student-athletes were unaware of the effects of taking the drugs. The study further exposed some effects of performance-enhancing drugs which included addictiveness and physiological health challenges on the individual. The study recommends that stakeholders should educate minnows on the adverse effects of taking drugs without a doctor’s prescription. Again, age should be used when organising competitions for student-athletes at the basic school level rather than weight, height and facial description.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0025/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>