Social change and doping decision-making: Building a conceptual framework and survey development

Summary:

Insufficient attention has been paid to the relationship between broad social change over time and athletes’ perceptions of doping. Social scientific research on athletes’ attitudes and perceptions of doping have clarified some factors in athletes’ perceptions and decisions, though they have not been analyzed in ways that help us to understand overarching social changes. Previous research also has not attempted to capture the influence of these changes over time. This project aims to address this gap in our understanding of doping through a mixed methods approach. By identifying key aspects of globalization, medicalization, technology, and related processes, the project will be able to conceptualize how social forces impact upon individual athletes, and in turn how the experiences and attitudes of individual athletes are the dependent upon, and reflective of, developments at  the meso- and macro- levels of their sport environment. This project aims to provide an understanding of how social changes influence athletes’ doping behaviors and attitudes.

Methodology

This project is comprised of two studies. In study one, archival data and semi-structured interviews with 48 athletes from four sports and eight countries were used to understand how globalization has influenced sport and athletes directly. Study two built on the athlete interview data to develop a set of survey questions that may capture how broad social trends impact on athletes perceptions of doping.

Results

By considering how these experiences changed over time, our understanding of the way these trends impact athlete lives and careers have been improved. Athlete resources, especially medical and financial, continues to vary across sport and country and potentially leave athletes more vulnerable to risky behaviors such as doping. National context increased awareness of the risks associated with doping. More specifically, the reputational risks  from having a doping violation were magnified by the close-knit sporting community in which most of these athletes operated. All of the athletes interviewed appreciated the support provided by medical staff for a range of issues. The direct link between medicalization and the risk of doping has not been empirically linked, though the role of “doping doctors” has been noted. All of the athletes reported a lack of direct awareness about doping in their sports. 

Significance for Clean Sport

The project developed a survey of 46 questions. These were broadly situated around five themes: (anti-doping) technology, medicine and health, professionalism (funding), media, and training environment (national and sport context). The questions were then sent to a panel of experts to evaluate how well each of them captured the theme under which it was situated. Following this, the survey was tested with 52 UK university athletes for clarity and purpose.