Toward an Integrative Model of Doping Use: An Empirical Study With Adolescent Athletes

Abstract

The present study assessed adolescent athletes' intentions toward doping by using an integrative theoretical model. Overall, 650 adolescent athletes from team and individual sports completed an anonymous structured questionnaire including demographic information, social desirability, achievement goals, motivational regulations, sportspersonship orientations, social cognitive variables, and anticipated regret. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that the integrative model predicted 57.2% of the variance in doping intentions. Social cognitive variables and anticipated regret directly predicted doping intentions. Anticipated regret added 3% incremental variance on top of other predictors. Multiple mediation analyses showed that the effects of achievement goals on intentions were mediated by self-efficacy beliefs, whereas the effects of sportspersonship were mediated by attitudes and anticipated regret. The present study confirmed the dual structure of an integrative model of doping intentions and further highlighted the role of anticipated regret in the study of adolescent doping use.

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

“…The results from Barkoukis et al [6] and Lazuras et al [5] nevertheless suggested that motivational regulations did not inform the process leading to the formation of doping intentions when tested alongside other distal predictors such as achievement goals. These discrepant results can be explained by the use of different scales.…”

“…These discrepant results can be explained by the use of different scales. For example, Hodge et al [13] and Chan et al used the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire [29][30][31][32], whereas Barkoukis et al [6] and Lazuras et al [5] used the Sport Motivation Scale [29].…”

“…To date, resistive self-regulatory efficacy has been shown to be an indirect predictor of sports cheating variables through moral disengagement in adolescents. In a recent meta-analysis [1], self-regulatory efficacy was a negative predictor of doping intentions [3,5,17] in the sports context. Last, Ring and Kavussanu [16] showed that doping self-regulatory efficacy was associated with doping intentions both directly and indirectly through doping moral disengagement.…”

“…The sports psychology literature indicates that doping intentions, with athletes considering the pros and cons of the behavior, have mainly been studied from the perspectives of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) [2][3][4][5] and self-determination theory (SDT) [3,4,6,7]. Other studies based on Bandura's [8][9][10] social cognitive theory have shown that affective and resistive self-regulatory efficacy are related directly and/or through moral disengagement to transgressive behaviors in sport [11].…”

“…In the specific context of doping, most studies based on the TPB perspective have included measurements of perceived behavioral control and situational self-efficacy (i.e., temptation), this latter being an important predictor of doping intentions and the strongest mediator in motivation-intention [3,5]. Although these measures of self-efficacy are interesting, they do not directly inform about the capacity to resist social pressure.…”