Predictors of Doping Intentions in Elite-Level Athletes: A Social Cognition Approach

Abstract

Doping use is an ongoing problem in contemporary sports. Despite efforts to detect and control doping, research on its etiology is limited, especially among elite-level athletes. The present study used an integrated social cognition model to examine the predictors of doping intentions. Structured anonymous questionnaires were completed by 1075 Greek adult elite-level athletes (M age = 25 years, SD = 5.89, 36.1% females) from both team and individual sports. Multiple regression and mediation analyses showed that attitudes, normative beliefs, situational temptation, and behavioral control significantly predicted doping intentions. A normative process was identified whereby situational temptation mediated the effects of normative beliefs on intentions. The findings provide the basis for future social cognition research in doping use, and set the framework for the development of evidence-based preventive interventions.

Personal and Psychosocial Predictors of Doping Use in Physical Activity Settings: A Meta-Analysis

“…We used self-efficacy to refrain from doping instead of perceived behavioral control as they both reflect efficacy beliefs. Further, past evidence has shown that self-efficacy to refrain from doping is a stronger predictor of doping intentions [16] and, in contrast to perceived behavioral control, a significant predictor of doping intentions in both users and non-users [94]. This model did not fit well [95]:  2 (3) = 288.98, p < 0.001, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.92, root mean square error of estimation (RMSEA) = 0.14, standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.04.…”

“…Researchers utilizing TPB have documented the ability of doping attitudes, perceived behavioral control and subjective norms to predict doping intention and self-reported doping behavior [e.g., [15][16][17]. These studies have involved a variety of populations including elite athletes [16], gym users [18], and adolescents [17,19]; suggesting generalizability of findings across different samples and settings.…”

“…These studies have involved a variety of populations including elite athletes [16], gym users [18], and adolescents [17,19]; suggesting generalizability of findings across different samples and settings. Alongside the core TPB variables, researchers have also used constructs outside the TPB framework to predict doping intentions and behaviors.…”

Self-Regulatory Mechanisms of Doping Intentions in Elite Athletes: The Role of Self-Determined Motivation in Sport

“…Affective self-regulatory efficacy: Affective self-regulatory efficacy was evaluated using the items from the French version of the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) [35][36][37][38], which was adapted to the sports context while preserving the highest semantic similarity to the original version. Sixteen items measured self-efficacy to regulate positive affect (5 items; e.g., "I feel capable of expressing my joy when positive things happen to me") and negative affect (12 items; e.g., "I feel capable of controlling myself when I am angry") on a Likert scale from "Not at all capable" (1) to "Completely capable" (6).…”

“…Scenarios have been used in previous doping research [13,35] because they do not require athletes to reveal their true behavior and can refer to various doping situations [16]. We based our approach on both the series of scenarios developed by Zelli et al [15] and the items used to measure doping intentions in past research [3,36]. The participating adolescents and young adults read five hypothetical scenarios concerning doping intentions.…”