Abstract:
Doping is the use of drug for the purpose of improving performance in general and sports performance in particular. Rejection or acceptance of the use of banned substances by athletes is determined by internal factors that are subjective and external or social. Against this background, the present study examined social risk factors as determinants of intention (temptation) to use banned substances and explored the willingness of athletes at the national level, to report the use of substances that enhance performance. The survey method was a self-report questionnaire based on the Romanian National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) model of approaching risk factors associated with the use of prohibited substances, collection of demographic data and use of the Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale (PEAS). The subjects were 171 athletes (mean age = 19.75, std. error = 0.103) and 30 coaches in sporting institutions and universities. The results reveal a complex distribution of environment-specific social-proximity influences of athletes, including the family, social class or professional institution, leisure group, sports team, sports clubs and social representation. The rate of prevalence for performance-enhancing drugs (PED)
was 1.23% to 12.0% for NADA (p < 0.05) and 1.1% to 15.0% for the PEAS (p < 0.001) and fall into ranges reported by recent studies (1.2% to 25.8%). The approach used took into account the assumption that doping is a rational behavior and intentional. As such, it provides points of intervention that influence decision-making. The findings reveal the need to consider the contribution of several social support factors that contribute to the trend abuse drugs
that increase performance.
Machine summary:
"The survey method was a self-report questionnaire based on the Romanian National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) model of approaching risk factors associated with the use of prohibited substances, collection of demographic data and use of the Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale (PEAS).
The NADA questionnaires for athletes and coaches was composed of 57 items on a subject’s: a) knowledge about types of prohibited substances and their effects; b) knowledge of the sanctions that might be imposed if an athlete is caught using a prohibited substance; c) rejection or acceptance of the use of prohibited substances; d) reasons for which an athlete would assume the risk of using a prohibited substance; e) proximity to social environment (sport group, teammates) and mass-media factors that influence subject attitude towards doping; f) suggestions for athletes and their entourage about education to reject doping; g) self-references to prohibited substance use and its consequences.
The opinions of coaches about the factors that encourage athletes to use prohibited substances included: the desire to achieve high performance in a short time (20%), get results (16%), affirmation (14%), team influence (12%), material gain, financial gain (12%), family pressure (16%), lack of information (5%), lack of information about risk (2%), other (4%: muscular ability, fitness, afraid to compete, family problems, body building magazines scored less than 1% each).
APPLICABLE REMARKS Assessing the impact of social factors motivators of doping intent, report targets research and literature data, confirm the general hypothesis that the attitude and behavior of doping is the result of a complex and dynamic influences internal and external structure of personality and social environment can be risk factors or prevention, placing the athlete between illegality and functionality, ethics and morals."