Why Athletes say No to Doping? Examining the reasons underpinning athletes’ decision not to dope / Dave Collins, Áine MacNamara, Rosie Collins, Richard Bailey. - Institute of Coaching and Performance, University of Central Lancashire, 2012
Based on WADA’s objective and remit, a research focus on the reasons why athletes’ chose not to use Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) is a sensible focus. Of course, these motives are likely to be diverse and complex. This project was designed to examine this complexity, focusing on the major reasons why athletes decide against PEDs. A biopsychosocial approach was employed with a consideration of physical factors (e.g., performance advantage or risk), psychological
characteristics (e.g., risk taking behavior), and the athlete’s social environment (e.g., the advantages and rewards of PEDs, the opinion and influence of significant others, the social opinions within particular sports).
The first phase of the project employed a qualitative methodology, using one-to-one interviews with a cohort of athletes sampled from different types of sports, to capture a rich account of the factors underpinning athletes’ decision-making about PEDs. A combined inductive-deductive analysis was conducted which allowed us to listen to the voices of the athletes in a grounded style during the inductive phase while the deductive phase enabled us to test the data from the interviews against the existing body of research. The results of this study provided a rich and detailed picture of the factors athletes consider in making decisions and arriving at their viewpoint about PEDs. Central to this was the importance of Personal Ethical Standards, and athletes’ view that PEDs constituted cheating in their sport, and irrespective of anti-doping testing and sanctions, this moral stance guided their decision about PEDs. In contrast, participants did not consider Anti-doping Education, Anti-doping Testing or Long-term Health Implications as significant influencing factors. Instead, the importance of significant others and the social environment (e.g., the athletes’ training group) emerged as important factors that influenced the athletes’ decision-making. Differences between sports and age cohorts also emerged during this phase.
Extrapolating from this data, a self-report questionnaire was developed to test for factors used and weightings applied. In Phase 2, this sample was administered to a larger sample of athletes in order to present a more generalizable conclusion. The results of this quantitative study support the findings from Phase 1 with Personal Ethical Standards emerging as the most significant factor in athletes’ decision-making. As found in Phase 1, Anti-doping Education, Anti-doping Testing, and Long-term Heath Implications were less likely to influence an athletes’ decision about PEDs. As was found in the qualitative phase, differences in responses were evident between sports, gender and age cohorts. This questionnaire can now be used with other populations and sports to extend and enrich the picture through consideration of their own athletes.
The results of this study have important implications for WADA and those charged with the fight against doping in sport. The emphasis placed by the athletes on Personal Ethical Standards, Psychosocial Influences, and the Influence of Significant Others is interesting and should help inform the content, strategy and dissemination of anti-doping policy.
Outcomes of the Project
1) Athletes’ personal ethical standards and morals play an important role in their decision not to dope.
2) The athletes’ training environment plays an important protective role in anti-doping; the influence of significant others, notably the opinions of family and coaches, is a significant influence on their decision not to dope.
3) Current anti-doping policy (including education, testing, and sanctions) are not seen as the determining factor in athletes’ decision about doping.
Application of Findings in the field of Anti-Doping
- Anti-doping education needs to be multifaceted and comprehensive beyond the traditional emphasis on testing, sanctions, and health implications.
- An increased emphasis on personal ethical standards and moral beliefs underlying attitudes to doping would seem a useful way to reduce susceptibility to PED usage.
- Reflecting the previous point, the impact and importance of the athletes’ psychosocial environment should be considered and used as a basis for intervention.
- Differences in attitudes and intention to behave across sports should be considered in the development and implementation of anti-doping policy and strategy.
- Educational program that deal with the morality of PED usage are important. This might be especially important for younger athletes.
- Educational program should target the broader psychosocial group to include parents, coaches, and significant others.
