performance enhancement in sport

8/3/2019 Performance Enhancement in Sport

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Performance enhancement in sport:

summary of findings

Lisa Whitaker

Carnegie Research Institute

January 2012



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Performance enhancing practices are commonplace in sports as athletes strive to be the best that

they can be. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine athletes’ attitudes,

perceptions and willingness towards the use of legal and illegal performance enhancing substances

in sport.

How many athletes have previously used banned substances or

currently use banned substances/ nutritional supplements?

Athletes reported whether they currently use nutritional supplements and/or banned substances

and whether they had previously used any banned substance. Table 1 provides a breakdown of the

number and percentage of athletes within each sport who use (d) either nutritional supplements or

banned substances.1

Table 1: Number and percentage of athletes who use nutritional supplements or banned substances

All sports (n=729)

Nutritional supplement use 541 (74%)

Current banned substance use 17 (2%)

Previous banned substance use 33 (5%)

Take home message:

Athletes competing at national or international level reported current and/or previous use

of banned substances despite the current anti-doping policy.

Drug testing alone is not an effective deterrent. More emphasis needs to be placed on

doping prevention and altering any damaging or distorted doping-related perceptions

athletes may have (e.g., possible outcomes which can be achieved from doping, other

athletes doping behaviour) as drugs testing alone is not a sufficient deterrent to prevent

athletes from using banned substances. In addition the development of life skills such as

effective decision making and coping strategies are important.

What outcomes do athletes perceive to be associated with the use of

nutritional supplements and banned substances?

Nutritional supplements

Table 2 highlights the percentage of athletes who either agreed or disagreed that the use of

nutritional supplements could result in each of the listed outcomes. Percentages may not add up to

100% as some participants did not provide responses to all questions.

1It is important to be aware however that under-reporting may have taken place because of the sensitive

nature of the topic. The number of athletes declaring previous use or current use of banned substances may

be inaccurate as a result of athletes purposefully failing to disclose correct information or not answering the

questions (85 athletes did not respond to the supplement use or current use of banned substances questions

and 78 athletes did not answer the previous use of banned substances question). A greater number of athletesmay therefore currently use banned substances and/or nutritional supplements or have used banned

substances previously than actually reported.



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Table 2: Percentage of athletes who agree/disagree that nutritional supplement use can result in

each outcome

Using NS can: All sports

Agree Disagree

Enhance performance 87% 12%

Enhance fitness components 77% 22%

Increase energy 91% 8%

Aid recovery 90% 9%

Enhance psychological characteristics 49% 50%

Improve diet 61% 38%

Improve health 65% 34%

Achieve optimal muscle size 61% 38%

Make you become dependent 36% 63%

Result in contamination 45% 54%

Lead to overdose34% 65%

Result in health problems 34% 65%

Put unknown substances into body 53% 46%

Imbalance diet 42% 57%

Take home message:

Education needs to focus on the risks associated with nutritional supplement use to

increase athletes’ knowledge

o A large proportion of athletes are consuming nutritional supplements, yet the findings

of this study indicate that athletes lack sufficient knowledge of the risks associated

with the use of nutritional supplements and that further education is necessary.o Contamination was not seen as a possible outcome to occur following the use of

nutritional supplements by 54% of athletes. This is despite the lack of regulation

within the supplement industry and the increasing number of cases portrayed in the

media in the last 12 months, particularly associated with the ingestion of

methylhexaneamine.

o Similarly, 65% of athletes disagreed that using nutritional supplements could lead to

overdose; whilst 65% believed that the use of nutritional supplements would not

result in health problems. Using nutritional supplements incorrectly can result in

potential side effects such as renal failure, seizures and caffeine intoxication.

o The findings suggest that athletes need to be made aware of these side effects as well

as the importance of eating a balanced diet. The ingestion of nutritional supplements

is not needed if athletes eat a balanced diet, even though 61% of athletes believed

nutritional supplement use was associated with an improved diet.

Banned substances

Table 3 highlights the percentage of athletes who either agreed or disagreed that the use of banned

substances could result in each of the listed outcomes. Again percentages may not add up to 100%

as some participants did not provide responses to all questions.



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Table 3: Percentage of athletes who agree/disagree that banned substance use can result in each

outcome

Using PES can: All sports

Agree Disagree

Enhance performance 85% 10%

Enhance fitness components 84% 11%

Result in financial gain 65% 30%

Achieve optimal muscle size 80% 15%

Enhance psychological characteristics 60% 36%

Result in winning 70% 25%

Enhance training 81% 15%

Make you become dependent 84% 12%

Lead to a negative reputation 89% 6%

Result in a ban 89% 6%

Lead to health problems90% 5%

Result in an unfair advantage 89% 6%

Make you feel guilty 85% 10%

Result in losing medals/records 89% 6%

Take home message:

Athletes agree that there are a number of positive and negative outcomes associated with

the use of banned substances. If an athlete was considering the use of a banned substance,

they would weigh up the positive and negative outcomes they perceive to be associated

with taking banned substances prior to use. If the negative outcomes outweighed the

positive outcomes, an athlete may be less likely to use a banned substance. However, if anathlete perceives the negative outcomes unlikely to occur and the positive outcomes highly

likely, they may be at a greater risk of doping.

The high agreement rates for positive outcomes (e.g., enhance performance, enhance

fitness components, achieve optimal muscle size) may represent reasons for athletes to

consider using banned substances. Therefore, if athletes are provided with alternative ways

to achieve the outcomes identified above (e.g., strength and conditioning), then they may be

less likely to use banned substances.

How similar do athletes perceive themselves to be to an athlete who

uses banned substances?

Male athletes perceived themselves to be more similar to athletes who use banned substances

when compared to female athletes. In addition, athletes competing at national level reported

themselves to be more similar to athletes who use banned substances than individuals competing at

any other level. The more an individual perceives an image to be similar to themselves, the more

willing they are to engage in that behaviour. Therefore, if athletes perceive themselves to be similar

to someone who uses a banned substance, they may be more likely to engage in doping compared

to an athlete who perceives themselves to be similar to someone who doesn’t use banned

substances.



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How favourable do athletes perceive those who use banned

substances to be?

Club/university athletes portrayed the greatest favourability towards athletes who use banned

substances compared with athletes competing at any other level. Similarly, males perceived athleteswho use banned substances are more favourable than female athletes. If an individual decides that

a person’s image is unacceptable due to the behaviour they engage in and don’t want to be

perceived that way themselves, then that individual will be unlikely to engage in the displayed

behaviour. Alternatively, the more favourable an athlete perceives another who uses banned

substances, the more likely that athlete may be to use a banned substance themselves in the future.

Take home message:

Male, club/university and national level athletes’ perceptions of athletes who use banned

substances need to be targeted through prevention programmes

Male athletes and those competing at national level perceive themselves to be more similar

to athletes who use banned substances than any other athletes. Males and club/university

level athletes also perceive athletes who use banned substances more favourable than any

other athletes. Athletes’ perceptions of those who use banned substances need to be

targeted through education so that the images become more negative and athletes perceive

themselves more like those who do not use banned substances. If the images of athletes

who use banned substances can be made more negative to athletes, perceptions will

become more negative, resulting in athletes less likely to use banned substances.

Do athletes have positive or negative attitudes towards doping?

Overall, athletes displayed relatively negative attitudes towards doping in sport. Males portrayed

more positive attitudes towards doping than females. In addition, athletes competing at club/

university and national level held more positive attitudes towards doping than athletes competing at

any other level. Attitudes usually correlate strongly with behaviour. Therefore, an athlete who

portrays strong positive attitudes towards doping may be more likely to use banned substances.

Take home message:

Prevention programmes aimed at instilling negative attitudes towards doping in athletes

need to be aimed at male, club/university and national level athletes.

Only six athletes portrayed extremely positive attitudes towards doping, therefore the

results of the study suggest that athletes generally see doping as a negative behaviour.

However, as male athletes and those competing at club/university or national level tend to

have the most positive attitudes towards doping, anti-doping programmes need to recognise

that it is important to target these groups.

Which athletes are most willing to use banned substances?

Males appear more willing to use a banned substance than females. Athletes competing at nationallevel reported greater willingness to use a banned substance than athletes competing at any other



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level.

When are athletes most willing to use banned substances?

Nine athletes reported that they were extremely willing to use a banned substance if they werefaced with any of the listed scenarios. Most athletes portrayed little or no willingness to use banned

substances. However, athletes appear to be most willing to use a banned substance if they were to

suffer a dip in performance and their funding was under threat, if they were to suffer an injury

before a major competition or they thought others were using and getting away with it.

Take home message:

Education and support may need to be put in place when athletes suffer an injury prior to

a major competition to prevent them from turning to banned substances.

Athletes’ perceptions of what other athletes are doing (i.e., taking banned substances) need

to be targeted and corrected so that athletes don’t believe that others are using banned

substances and getting away with it.

Who do athletes think would approve of them using nutritional

supplements or banned substances?

Athletes identified whether or not they thought significant others would approve of them using

nutritional supplements or banned substances. Table 4 highlights the percentage of athletes who

perceived their significant others would either approve or not approve of them using nutritional

supplements or banned substances.

Table 4: Percentage of athletes who believed significant others would approve/not approve of them

using nutritional supplements

Nutritional Supplements Banned Substances

Approve Won’t approve Approve Won’t approve

Coach 87% 13% 6% 94%

Doctor 71% 28% 1% 99%

Fellow athletes 88% 12% 7% 93%

Family 71% 28% 1% 99%

Athletes perceived that coaches and fellow athletes would approve of them using nutritional

supplements and banned substances more than doctors and family members.

Take home message:

If athletes believe that significant others would be accepting of them performing a particular

behaviour, they are more likely to engage in that behaviour.

Coaches are highly influential on athletes’ behaviour; therefore they need to receive

education relating to the use of both nutritional supplements and banned substances.

Education also needs to highlight to coaches the extent to which their behaviour and

perceptions can influence an athlete’s behaviour. This will enable coaches become more



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self-aware of the implications of their actions.

Do athletes think others in their sport would use a drug if it was

undetectable and guaranteed winning?

Athletes believed that 37% of their fellow athletes would use a drug if it was undetectable

and guaranteed winning. This reduced to 9% if the drug would lead to death after five years.

Previous research has found that athletes who use banned substances tend to overestimate

doping more than those who report non-use. Therefore, prevalence estimates of doping are

important and could highlight athletes who are more likely to use banned substances in the

future. Forty one percent is high and highlights the importance of targeting athletes’

perceptions associated with doping through education and intervention programmes.

Take home message:

Anti-doping education programmes need to target athletes’ perceptions of other athletes

doping behaviour.

Summary and implications

Overall, athletes portrayed negative attitudes and low willingness to use banned substances.

Athletes provided an indication that they would be most willing to use a banned substance if they

were to suffer a dip in performance and their funding was under threat, if they were to suffer an

injury before a major competition or they thought others were using and getting away with it. In

addition, athletes perceived individuals who do not use banned substances as much morefavourable than athletes who use banned substances. Athletes also reported that they would

receive either no or little approval from significant others in relation to using banned substances.

Males and athletes competing at club/ university or national level need to

be specifically targeted

Further education is required surrounding the risks of using nutritional

supplements (e.g., contamination, side effects)

Anti-doping programmes need to target athletes’ doping-relatedperceptions (e.g., other athletes doping behaviour, outcome expectations)

performance enhancement in sport

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