Investigation of Psychological Relationship between the Level of Religiosity and Doping Susceptibility among Bodybuilding Athletes

Background and Purpose: Due to the advertising of new technologies for the use of biochemical resources to enhance muscle mass, doping is interwoven with the development of the modernized organized sport. Different fields of study, such as history, sociology, and psychology investigate doping with their theoretical methods and frameworks. The present study aimed to investigate the psychological relationship between the level of religiosity and the doping susceptibility among the bodybuilding athletes in Ilam, Iran. Materials and Methods: The study population of this descriptive-correlational study included all male athletes referring to bodybuilding gyms in Ilam, Iran, during 2018. In total, 120 athletes were selected using the available sampling method. The data were collected using a Santa Clara strength of religious faith questionnaire and doping susceptibility questionnaire. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 22) through the Pearson correlation coefficient to investigate the relationship between religious faith and doping susceptibility. Results: The results showed a significant negative relationship between religious beliefs and doping susceptibility (P<0.05). Conclusion: The more deep-rooted religious beliefs are regarded as protective factors against the tendency towards doping behaviors in athletes. This issue could be considered an important outcome regarding the health of athletes