Sport supplement use predicts doping attitudes and likelihood via sport supplement beliefs

The aim of this study was to examine: 1) whether sport supplement use is related to doping and 2) whether sport supplement beliefs mediated this relationship. In Study 1, athletes (N = 598), completed measures of sport supplement use, sport supplement beliefs, and doping attitudes. In Study 2, athletes (N = 475) completed measures of sport supplement use, sport supplement beliefs, and doping likelihood. In both studies, sport supplement use predicted doping outcomes indirectly via sport supplement beliefs. Our findings provide novel evidence to suggest that sport supplement users, who strongly believe that sport supplements are effective, are more likely to dope. For anti-doping organisations wishing to prevent doping, targeting an athlete’s beliefs about sport supplements may improve the effectiveness of anti-doping prevention programmes.     

From anti-doping to a ‘performance policy’ sport technology,being human,and doing ethics

Abstract

This paper discusses three questions concerning the ethics of performance enhancement in sport. The first has to do with the improvement to policy and argues that there is a need for policy about doping to be re-constituted and to question the conceptual priority of ‘anti’ doping. It is argued that policy discussions about science in sport must recognise the broader context of sport technology and seek to develop a policy about ‘performance’, rather than ‘doping’. The second argues that a quantitative enhancement to a sporting performance has no value and is, thus, unethical, unless the motivation behind using it implies something meaningful about being human. Thus, unless the use of the technology is constitutive of our humanness, then it is not a justifiable method of altering (rather than enhancing) performance. This rules out the legitimacy of using performance enhancement to gain an advantage over other competitors, who do not have access to similar means. Finally, the third argument claims that sport ethics has had only a limited discourse and has failed to recognise broader theoretical ideas in relation to performance modification, which might be found in the philosophy of technology and bioethics. Collectively, these positions articulate important concerns about the role of science in sport and the ethical discussions arising from them.     

Sport cooperation in divided Korea: an overstated role of sport diplomacy in South Korea

Abstract

Sport, widely believed to have a positive utility in the diplomatic arena, has been adopted by the North and South Korean governments from the early 1960s onwards. However, sport exchanges on the divided peninsula functioned as a social agent only when political reconciliation and cooperation prevailed already. Thus, the aim of this article is to understand the relationship between sport and international relations with particular reference to the cases of Korea and Germany. It seeks to critically explore the role of sport as a diplomatic vehicle in inter-Korean relations from a historical and political context, while focusing on the integration theories. This article also uses the German case to highlight how sport has played a role in the process of German reunification. Then this paper argues that sport has not been a crucial factor in promoting either reconciliation or unification, and the utmost efforts to institutionalize sport exchanges are essential.     

Predicting elite Scottish athletes’ attitudes towards doping: examining the contribution of achievement goals and motivational climate

Understanding athletes’ attitudes to doping continues to be of interest for its potential to contribute to an international anti-doping system. However, little is known about the relationship between elite athletes’ attitudes to drug use and potential explanatory factors, including achievement goals and the motivational climate. In addition, despite specific World Anti-Doping Agency Code relating to team sport athletes, little is known about whether sport type (team or individual) is a risk or protective factor in relation to doping. Elite athletes from Scotland (N = 177) completed a survey examining attitudes to performance-enhancing drug (PED) use, achievement goal orientations and perceived motivational climate. Athletes were generally against doping for performance enhancement. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that task and ego goals and mastery motivational climate were predictors of attitudes to PED use (F (4, 171) = 15.81, P < .01). Compared with individual athletes, team athletes were significantly lower in attitude to PED use and ego orientation scores and significantly higher in perceptions of a mastery motivational climate (Wilks’ lambda = .76, F = 10.89 (5, 170), P < .01). The study provides insight into how individual and situational factors may act as protective and risk factors in doping in sport.     

Diplomatic and International History: Athletes and Ambassadors

The methods of diplomatic and international history present additional approaches to sport topics which can allow for more nuanced understandings of sport organizations, their events, and relations between countries. This study explores diplomatic and international history methods and how they can be utilized by sport historians.     

Der Dopingdiskurs der 1950er und 1960er Jahre in den Leitmedien Der Spiegel und Die Zeit

Doping and antidoping are socially constructed, evolving and historically contingent phenomena relying on actors agreeing about allowed and deviant behaviour. Therefore, public discourse about doping represents an important part of the history of doping and antidoping. Content analysis of doping discourse in German quality media Der Spiegel und Die Zeit in the 1950s and 1960s shows that public attention for doping was rather low even though awareness increased due to the politicisation of sport and the rise of anabolic doping. Doping does not appear as a particular pressing but solvable problem. Moreover, doping is not linked to West German sport. In ethical terms, doping is perceived negatively. Neither does there exist a general mistrust in the sport bodies nor are sport bodies or sport policy clearly and resolutely requested to act. Therefore, the well-known 1969 article by Brigitte Berendonk marks a qualitative turn in public doping discourse.     

Difficult Adaptations to Innovations in Performance Enhancement: ‘Dr Brustmann's Power Pills’ and Anti-doping in German Post-war Sport

The paper emphasizes the idea that in order to avoid present-minded moralizing research on doping history we should consider doping as a socially constructed phenomenon. By examining the most spectacular West German doping scandal of the 1950s, the so-called Brustmann affair, the paper illustrates the difficulties sport physicians as well as sport functionaries faced when it came to deal with innovations in pharmacological performance enhancement. The complexities and ambiguities surrounding doping in the 1950s make evident why turning sport physicians into sport health guardians was a logical option for the sport associations in post war Germany even though ‘doctor's dilemmas’ typical for sport medicine soon emerged.     

The role of self-regulatory efficacy,moral disengagement and guilt on doping likelihood: A social cognitive theory perspective

Given the concern over doping in sport, researchers have begun to explore the role played by self-regulatory processes in the decision whether to use banned performance-enhancing substances. Grounded on Bandura’s (1991) theory of moral thought and action, this study examined the role of self-regulatory efficacy, moral disengagement and anticipated guilt on the likelihood to use a banned substance among college athletes. Doping self-regulatory efficacy was associated with doping likelihood both directly (b = ?.16, P < .001) and indirectly (b = ?.29, P < .001) through doping moral disengagement. Moral disengagement also contributed directly to higher doping likelihood and lower anticipated guilt about doping, which was associated with higher doping likelihood. Overall, the present findings provide evidence to support a model of doping based on Bandura’s social cognitive theory of moral thought and action, in which self-regulatory efficacy influences the likelihood to use banned performance-enhancing substances both directly and indirectly via moral disengagement.     

Intentional Rules Violations—One More Time

A familiar move that philosophers of sport make in the debate on the doping-issue is to reject from the start the argument that doping comes down to cheating. The claim that doping is cheating is often rebutted with the argument that doping is only cheating when one accepts that the use of doping is unjustified in itself. In this paper I want to argue that putting aside the cheating-argument in this way comes, first, too easy, because essential complexities of what cheating is, are neglected. And, second, it comes too soon, because spelling the cheating argument out throws new light on the debate about matters of justifying the rules and criteria concerning doping. I will confine myself in this paper to the claim that it is in any case the institutional authorities that professional athletes cheat on. The relations with other parties that apparently can be claimed to be cheated upon also, such as other athletes in competition, are left out. The argument from cheating takes its starting point from a principle of fidelity, taken from Scanlon. By this principle the morally acceptable conduct of those taking part in a practice is grounded in the way reciprocal expectations are raised between parties to the practice. I apply this principle to the relation between athletes and institutional authorities in sport practices. This argument can take the cheating argument to a new level of seriousness, especially in the sense that the arguments treated here support a plea for democratization of the procedures and a larger role of the sportsmen and sportswomen themselves, or so I will defend.     

Doping in sport: Whose problem is it?

In the last few years there has been a significant increase in the number and scope of social science research into doping in sport. However, despite this apparent progress, the field remains a disparate body of work and lacks both direction and leadership. Whilst sport management is a discipline that is well suited to provide such leadership, scholarly research into this controversial topic has not been published widely in sport management journals. This special issue redresses this gap by bringing together a range of scholarly articles that represent a variety of perspectives by authors from North America, Europe and Australia. The issues and challenges covered are varied, but each paper brings a common theme: the implications for the management of doping in sport. The six papers in this Special Issue of Sport Management Review are a significant addition to the slowly growing body of sport management scholarly work on doping in sport. It is hoped that future research will be prompted with this Special Issue and the discipline of sport management will recognize and respond to the challenges presented by doping.     

Guangzhou 2010: Singapore at a Global Crossroads

This essay is an analysis of the reality of Singapore's Asian Games' aspirations and achievements and the responses to the challenges it faced in Guangzhou in 2010. How did ‘Team Singapore’ respond to the challenges that they met at what represented a crossroad in their sporting history at which they met the vehicle carrying China's sporting and soft power products. How did they react and were the effort, industry, hyperbole and not insignificant government financial outlay and policy initiatives worth it? The analysis constitutes a critique of articles relating to the Guangzhou Asian Games of 2010 that appeared in the three major English language newspapers in Singapore, The Straits Times, The Sunday Times and The New Paper before, during and after the Games. From the analysis, major themes emerged which characterised the environment of elite sport in Singapore and revealed that it is very much part of the nation's inimitable social, political and diplomatic schema; sport, as with all other socio-cultural institutions in Singapore, has not and does not evolve accidentally.     

A Critical Assessment of John Hoberman's Histories of Drugs in Sport

John Hoberman has been one of the most prominent historians of doping and anti-doping in world sport. His writings span two decades and include two monographs: Mortal Engines (1992) and Testosterone Dreams (2005). This article focuses on those two books and offers three principal forms of criticism. Firstly, that Hoberman does not offer conceptual clarity on issues such as doping regulation/liberalization. Secondly, that a powerful implicit theme of nostalgia and even anti-modernity underlies his analyses, though that has changed over time. And thirdly, that his historical methodology is questionable. The conclusion of this review is that while he offers some powerful thought-provoking arguments, these are undermined by a lack of consistency, misleading interpretation and presentation of source material, and a failure to follow rigorous historiographic methods.     

A moral basis for prohibiting performance enhancing drug use in competitive sport

A strong moral reason for prohibiting doping in sport is to be found in the bad choices that would be faced by clean athletes in a sporting world that tolerated doping. The case against doping is not, however, to be grounded in the concept of coercion. Instead, it is grounded in a general duty of sport to afford fair opportunity to the goods that are distinctively within sport's sphere of control. The moral reason to prohibit doping need not be balanced against any autonomy claim of athletes who would prefer to dope because, upon closer examination, such claims have no force. The moral reason to prohibit doping does, however, need to be balanced against the enforcement costs imposed on all athletes by effective prohibition.     

中国体育文化建设三题

从广义文化学视角审视中国体育文化建设问题。认为:后发外生型的中国体育在本国从未获得体育本体价值的普遍社会认同,不好运动而偏爱心智娱乐的文化传统,社会支持不力,体育圈规则的某些不良习惯是阻碍中国体育文化建设的主要因素。中国竞技体育的价值应转换为增强国家的综合实力、竞争力、软实力、文化力、外交力等;中国社会体育的价值应在满足基本人权、平等权利,提升身体素质、健康素质、生活质量中得以体现;中国学校体育的价值基本内容应包括健身能力、锻炼习惯、身体素质、体育知识、顽强意志、合作意识、竞争精神等。确立体育对于个体生存空间、生命质量、生活方式的独特价值,倡导体育在社会层面上对社群稳定、社区和谐、社会活力的积极意义,意识到体育对于国民利益、国家实力、国际形象的表征价值。     

Inside the locker room: a qualitative study of coaches’ anti-doping knowledge,beliefs and attitudes

It is widely assumed that coaches have an effect on athletes’ doping behaviours; however, the means by which this influence can be manifested are only superficially understood. The present study seeks to understand how coaches see their role in directly and indirectly influencing the doping attitudes and behaviours of athletes. Fourteen elite-level coaches participated in focus group discussions. Coaches displayed a low level of knowledge of banned methods and practices. While it was acknowledged that doping was prevalent in sport, coaches believed that doping was not a problem in their own sport, since doping does not aid in the development or implementation of sporting ‘skills’. While the findings suggest that coaches support the revised WADA Code, with increased sanctions for coaches, the findings also highlight how coaches may indirectly and inadvertently condone doping. This may be through inaction or the apparent endorsement of pro-doping expectancies.     

Social validation: a motivational theory of doping in an online bodybuilding community

Abstract

Doping research has predominantly been framed through an ethical lens, implicitly restricted to the realms of elite sport. Despite increasing anecdotal evidence of growing prevalence rates amongst recreational athletes, such as bodybuilders, these populations have largely been neglected within psychological research. This study aims to develop a theoretical framework relevant to these athletes. Data were collected over a five-month period from an online community forum dedicated to recreational bodybuilders. Purposive sampling was used to gather 118 webpages of doping-related discussion, which were qualitatively analysed using grounded theory applying Strauss’s coding paradigm. Inductive categories were integrated into a motivational framework that related recreational doping to social validation. Categories included the online community’s rite of passage, normative-inferences that facilitated doping, and deterrence factors related to fear of perceived health risks. Findings demonstrate that, for recreational bodybuilders, psychosocial processes are significantly related to doping motives, and that health factors are primary doping deterrents.     

Evaluation of an anti-doping intervention for adolescents: Findings from a school-based study

The present study investigated the effectiveness of a school-based intervention in promoting an anti-doping culture in adolescents. Participants were 218 high school students attending Health Education programs in Greek secondary education. Students completed a questionnaire including measures of attitudes towards nutritional supplement and doping use, social norms and norm salience, and values and harms of sport. The intervention consisted of 10 teaching units focusing on the health, moral, social and psychological aspects of nutritional supplement and doping use. The results showed that intervention group participants reported significantly weaker attitudes towards doping use, and increased norm salience. Health was ranked as the most important value of sport in both intervention and control groups, and doping use was ranked as the most important threat to the integrity of sport in the intervention group. The findings are discussed with respect to policy making and the role of school-based interventions in promoting an anti-doping culture in young people.     

The Asian Games and Diplomacy in Asia: Korea–China–Russia

In this article, I will look at the impact of sport on relations between states. In particular, I will study the role that sport has played in enhancing (or damaging) diplomacy in international relations. I will look especially at the role that the Olympics and the Asian Olympics have played in promoting diplomatic breakthroughs between countries. My cases focus on the use of sports diplomacy to foster the end of the Cold War in Asia, studying the breakthroughs between Korea, China and Russia. I will then look at the Beijing Games of 2008 and Guangzhou Asian Games of 2010.     

Doping control in sport: An investigation of how elite athletes perceive and trust the functioning of the doping testing system in their sport

Doping testing is a key component enforced by anti-doping authorities to detect and deter doping in sport. Policy is developed to protect athletes’ right to participate in doping-free sport; and testing is a key tool to secure this right. Accordingly, athletes’ responses to anti-doping efforts are important. This article explores how the International Standards for Testing, which face different interpretations and challenges when policy is implemented, are perceived by elite athletes. Particularly, this article aims to investigate how elite athletes perceive the functioning of the testing system (i.e., the efforts of stakeholders involved in testing) in their own sport both nationally and worldwide. Moreover, it seeks to identify whether specific factors such as previous experience of testing and perceived proximity of doping have an impact on athletes’ perceptions of the testing system. The study comprises a web-based questionnaire (N = 645; response rate 43%) and uses qualitative findings to elaborate on and explain quantitative results. Results showed that two-thirds of the athletes reported the national testing programme in their sport to be appropriate. A majority of the athletes who had an opinion on the subject regarded testing programmes in some countries as not extensive enough or believed that in certain countries doping control was downgraded to win medals. Past experience of testing seemed to have a positive influence on trust in the concrete measures; however, if athletes experienced flaws during the control procedures, this could increase distrust and cause worry. The proximity of doping in an athlete's sport influenced the athlete's perception of the testing system. Particularly, athletes who need the testing system to be effective and to function well across the world show greater distrust of or dissatisfaction with the current testing system. The athletes’ diverging views indicate that contemporary anti-doping policy is simultaneously met with support, (dis)trust and frustration. By integrating the views and experiences of Danish elite athletes, this study confirms that the current testing system is confronted with obstacles, and it contributes knowledge about some of the challenges WADA faces when policy is implemented. Implications of results and recommendations for anti-doping authorities are outlined in the paper.     

Basic values predict doping likelihood

ABSTRACT

Basic values, defined as trans-situational goals that vary in importance and act as guiding principles in life, have been linked with unethical cognitions, emotions and actions. Their roles in doping, a form of cheating in sport, have yet to established. College athletes reported doping likelihood in hypothetical scenario-based situations and completed measures of basic values, moral disengagement, and anticipated guilt. Correlation analysis showed that doping likelihood was positively associated with self-enhancement values but negatively associated with self-transcendence values and conservation values. Moral disengagement correlated positively with self-enhancement values and negatively with self-transcendence values, whereas guilt correlated positively conservation values and negatively with self-enhancement values and openness to change values. Regression analyses showed that self-enhancement values positively predicted doping likelihood directly, self-transcendence values negatively predicted doping likelihood indirectly via moral disengagement and guilt, and conservation values negatively predicted doping likelihood indirectly via guilt. In line with theory and evidence concerning the relationship between basic value systems and moral thought and action, we found that the values of athletes are directly (self-enhancement) and indirectly (self-transcendence, conservation) linked with likely use of banned performance enhancing substances, an expression of cheating in sport.