Attitudes Towards Doping as a Predictor of Doping Usage in Professional and Non-Professional Athletes

Original scientific article

Abstract

Doping and the use of performance-enhancing drugs in athletes have become hot topics in recent years. There seem to be many factors that will influence whether one will opt to use a banned substance, and an athlete’s attitudes toward doping is one of them. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of doping usage in the athlete population of the city of Osijek and to evaluate the interconnection between athletes’ attitudes toward doping and doping usage. A cross-sectional study with a specially designed questionnaire was done during the period from August to October 2019 among a convenient sample of athletes from the city of Osijek. The study showed that there were 3.7% of participants who said that they had been using doping in the past but only for the purpose of treatment. The study also showed that there is a positive interconnection between attitudes toward doping and doping usage. Furthermore, the study had revealed that competitiveness affects the doping attitude. It can be concluded that it is necessary to put more emphasis on changing attitudes toward doping and implementing additional educational programs in order to decrease doping usage in the athletes’ population.