Perceptions of Anabolic Steroid Users1

Social Perceptions of Masculinity and Sexual Esteem Are Impacted by Viagra Use, Testosterone, and Sexual Performance

Sexual behaviors play a role in the social construction of masculinity. Moreover, this stereotype has been capitalized upon by pharmaceutical companies, as well as those that sell products not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for purposes of marketing sexual medicines. Stereotypical notions of masculinity, however, also emphasize the importance of self-reliance, which may cause some to look unfavorably upon the use of sexual medicine. Consistent with this notion, a male target was viewed as more masculine when his female partner consistently reached orgasm, unless he had no history of erectile dysfunction (ED), but was taking Viagra anyway (Experiment 1; N = 522). In addition, when his partner consistently reached orgasm, ratings of his sexual esteem were also lower if he used Viagra than if he did not, but only if he had no history of ED. In Experiment 2 (N = 711), although there was no effect of a male target's use of testosterone, social perception of his masculinity and sexual esteem increased as his "natural" levels of testosterone increased. In addition, exploratory analysis revealed that if the male target had low (but not normal or high) "natural" levels of testosterone, ratings of his masculinity were higher if his female partner consistently had an orgasm, which suggests that female orgasm served to "rescue" masculinity. Because expectations about drugs drive their use, it is important to address preconceived notions about the use of sexual medicines for purposes of enhancing masculinity and sexual esteem, as the social perception of their use is much more complex.

Examining a negative halo effect to anabolic steroids users through perceived achievement goals, sportspersonship orientations, and aggressive tendencies

We investigated the social image of anabolic steroids (AS) users grounding our analysis on the achievement goal theory of Nicholls. Our main goal was to explore how an athlete's acceptance of AS use would impact on the way that athlete will be perceived by others. Non-AS-using participants reacted to one of two scenarios portraying a male athlete either accepting or refusing to engage in drug use behavior. The results suggested that the acceptance of anabolic steroids yielded an unfavorable social image--perceivers inferred a predominant ego orientation to characterize the AS-user's motivation as well as weaker sportspersonship and a stronger proclivity for reactive aggression than instrumental aggression. Moreover, the analyses did not yield significant gender or interaction effects. Finally, those findings are commented in view of methodological shortcomings and of the perspectives that they may offer for future research concerning the motivational aspects of the social perceptions of drug use in sport.

Current perspectives on anabolic steroids

Steroids are used outside the realm of competitive athletics in Australia among a wide variety of groups with different motivations and goals. This paper provides an overview of the reasons for use; rates of usage; physical and psychological side effects; and sources of steroids. Issues associated with injecting steroids; their current legal status; and drug education and prevention programmes are reviewed briefly. Research involving identified sub-populations is needed to determine user profiles and prevalence rates of users and potential users. Studies of Australian users are also needed to obtain baseline information on areas of potential harm associated with steroids use, e.g. aggressive behaviour, needle-sharing behaviour, physical side effects and potential for dependency. It is concluded that future deterrence strategies should focus more on demand reduction, rather than supply.

Beliefs about steroids: user vs. non-user comparisons

The differences in beliefs about the effects of anabolic steroid (AS) use between AS users and non-users provides potentially important clues to understanding AS use. Two groups of bodybuilders were used in this comparison: AS users (n = 20) and non-users (n = 27). Subjects completed a 40-item scale measuring their beliefs about the effects of steroids, both physical and psychological (Beliefs About Steroids Scale: BASS). MANOVA comparisons between AS users and non-users on the BASS items indicate that AS-using bodybuilders believe that AS enhance their physical strength, athletic ability, confidence, assertiveness, feelings of sexuality, and feelings of optimism.