The Attitudes of Track and Field Throwers toward Performance Enhancing Drug Use and Drug Testing

The practice of enhancing athletic performance through the use of ergogenic aids or by extraneous artificial means is as old as competitive sport itself. Although the abuse of such substances has been historically problematic, very little research assessing the attitudes of strength/power athletes concerning ergogenic aids exists. As national anti-doping organizations (NADOs) adopt preventative measures to complement detection-based deterrence methods, understanding athlete attitudes towards drugs in sport will take on a new importance. This study was conducted to measure athlete attitudes in the sport of track and field (specifically throwers) toward performance enhancing drug (PED) use and drug testing. The results suggest that both attitude (mean = 1.20 ± 0.91) and behavioral intent (mean = 1.27± 1.5) of throwers in the United States are supportive of the anti-doping movement. However, the score on subjective norm (mean = -0.18 ± 1.03) was negative suggesting that track and field throwers perceive doping as a problem in elite-level (professional or post-collegiate) track and field. The conclusions of the present study support previous research findings: negative attitudes towards doping and positive attitudes in support of drug testing.