Influences of perfectionism and motivational climate on attitudes towards doping among Korean national athletes: a cross sectional study

Applying a systems thinking lens to anti-doping: A systematic review identifying the contributory factors to doping in sport

The use of performance enhancing substances and methods (known as "doping") in sport is an intractable issue, with current anti-doping strategies predominantly focused on the personal responsibility and strict liability of individual athletes. This is despite an emerging understanding that athletes exist as part of a broader complex sports system that includes governance, policymakers, media, sponsors, clubs, team members, and athlete support staff, to name a few. As such, there is a need to examine the broader systemic factors that influence doping in sport. The aim of this systematic review was to identify and synthesise the factors contributing to doping and doping behaviours, attitudes, and beliefs and the extent to which this knowledge extends beyond the athlete to consider broader sports systems. The review followed PRISMA guidelines with risk of bias and study quality assessed by the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool, and identified contributory factors synthesised and mapped onto a systems thinking-based framework. Overall, the included studies were determined to be of high quality. Support personnel, the coach, and the coach-athlete relationship represent key influences on the athletes' decisions to dope. From the evidence presented, doping is an emergent property of sport systems and represents a complex systemic problem that will require whole-of-system interventions. The implications for this and the focus of future research are discussed.

Context matters: athletes' perception of dopers' values, actions and vulnerabilities

Background

Although athletes seem to hold uniform views towards non-dopers, their perception of dopers is more nuanced, reflecting positive and negative attributes. Research also indicates that rarely a single factor can explain doping, but a host of reasons that intertwine. A holistic understanding of how values play a role in decisions in anti-doping and the elements that influence athletes' doping vulnerability is timely and warranted.

Methods

We recruited elite athletes from 13 countries representing 27 sports at a national or international level (N = 60) to participate as part of a larger research project. Data were collected via focus group interviews focusing on values, value priorities and perceptions about the role of values in doping as a phenomenon and in dopers' actions. Data were analysed using iterative thematic analysis.

Results

Three themes were identified: (1) athletes' personal stance on doping, (2) dopers in the eyes of the anti-doping-compliant athletes, and (3) doping vulnerability is a balance. Athletes in this study strongly opposed doping but showed empathy and understanding toward athletes who doped under certain circumstances. Furthermore, athletes believed that "clean" and "doping" athletes are not always distinguished by the values they hold, leading to the realisation that all athletes can be vulnerable to doping at some point. This vulnerability is a balance between risks and protective factors in a complex interaction between environmental, personal, and situational influences. Each element (e.g., values, environment) can be a motivator or a barrier. Consequently, doping vulnerability is highly idiosyncratic and dynamic.

Conclusion

If doping is not due to a lack of moral values but the consequences of combined risk factors that override the guiding function of values, then doping can happen to anyone, "good" athletes included. Developers and facilitators of anti-doping education programmes are advised to embrace this important aspect. The results also contribute to developing the doping vulnerability concept as a balance between risks and protective factors and draw attention to the clean athlete vulnerability, which is rooted in the combination of strategic performance enhancement via non-prohibited means, their exposure to anti-doping requirements and the constant high level of suspicion that surrounds them.

Attitudes of Sport Fans Toward the Electronic Sign-Stealing Scandal in Major League Baseball: Differing Associations With Perfectionism and Excellencism

The winners of the 2017 World Series were found guilty of illegally using electronic devices to steal the signs of their opponents. Many but not all sport fans negatively reacted to this cheating incident. We relied on the model of excellencism and perfectionism to determine if perfection strivers are less unfavorable toward electronic sign stealing (cheating) compared with excellence strivers. Sport fans (N = 321) completed a measure of excellencism and perfectionism. We used three different approaches to measure attitudes toward electronic sign stealing in baseball. Results of a multivariate multiple regression showed that sport fans who are perfection strivers held more favorable attitudes toward electronic sign stealing compared with excellence strivers. Perfection strivers also reported higher moral disengagement and winning-at-all-cost mentality. These findings are insightful because they indicate that perfectionistic standards significantly relate to sport cheating-related attitudes once we separate excellencism from perfectionism.

Moral Identity and Attitudes towards Doping in Sport: Whether Perception of Fair Play Matters

Research evidence suggests that athletes' attitudes towards banned substances are among the strongest predictors of intention to use or actual practice of doping. Previous research has found that personal morality was negatively related to doping attitudes. However, less is known about the role of athletes' perceptions of fair play on their attitudes towards doping. First, we examined whether moral identity was associated with athletes' attitudes towards doping and whether their perceptions of fair play mediated this relationship. The second purpose was to determine whether these associations differed among non-athletes. Overall, 365 university students (49.9% males, 55.3% athletes) participated in this study (mean age 22.02, SD = 6.58). They completed questionnaires measuring the aforementioned variables. The results showed that athletes' moral identity and endorsement of fair play were negatively associated with their attitudes towards doping. The mediation analyses showed that the effect of moral identity on attitudes towards doping was partially mediated by perceptions of fair play (indirect effect, β = -0.10, p < 0.05). Unlike student athletes, non-athletes' moral identity negatively predicted attitudes towards doping only indirectly, via fair play perception (indirect effect, β = -0.08, p < 0.05). The study provides insights into how a person's morality and perception of moral values in sport may act as factors related to doping in sport. The practical implications for the promotion of anti-doping attitudes for athletes and separately for student non-athletes were provided together with future research perspectives.

Perceived Motivational Climates and Doping Intention in Adolescent Athletes: The Mediating Role of Moral Disengagement and Sportspersonship

Doping is an important issue in competitive sports and poses potentially irreversible consequences to athletes. Understanding the psychological process underlying antecedents and doping intention will inform policy and prevention. This study aimed to test the psychosocial mechanisms of doping in adolescent athletes using an integrated model. In this model, we examined the associations of perceived motivational climate (i.e., task-involving and ego-involving), moral variables (i.e., moral disengagement and sportspersonship), and attitudinal variables (i.e., perceived pros/cons of doping and perceived cons of not doping) with doping intention. We further investigated whether the moral variables mediated the relationship between perceived motivational climate and doping intention. A cross-sectional survey was employed in the present study. Six hundred and fifteen Chinese adolescent athletes (mean age = 15.68 ± 1.67 years) completed questionnaires measuring demographic information and the variables mentioned previously. Structural equation modeling showed that the hypothesized model had a good fit and explained 64.1% of the variance in doping intention. Task-involving motivational climate indicated both directly and indirectly negative associations with doping intention via sportspersonship. The ego-involving motivational climate was positively associated with doping intention via moral disengagement. Among perceived pros/cons of doping and perceived cons of not doping, both perceived cons of doping and cons of not doping were positively associated with doping intention with a small effect size. This study confirmed the roles of tasking- and ego-involving motivational climates, moral variables, and attitudinal variables on doping intention. These research findings may provide new insights for the future of intention-based doping prevention programmes.

Relationship between perfectionism and attitudes toward doping in young athletes: the mediating role of autonomous and controlled motivation

Background

Recent studies suggest that autonomous and controlled motivation may mediate the relationship between perfectionism and attitudes toward doping. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association among perfectionistic strivings, perfectionistic concerns, autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and attitudes toward doping in young athletes. The potential mediating role of autonomous and controlled motivation was examined.

Methods

Two hundred and forty-three Chinese athletes were surveyed using questionnaires. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to evaluate the potential mediating role of autonomous and controlled motivation between perfectionism and attitudes toward doping.

Results

The results showed that perfectionistic strivings was negatively associated with attitudes toward doping, whereas perfectionistic concerns positively predicted attitudes toward doping. Autonomous motivation was negatively associated with attitudes toward doping, whereas controlled motivation positively predicted attitudes toward doping. The mediation analyses showed that the relationship between perfectionistic strivings and attitudes toward doping was partially mediated by autonomous motivation. The relationship between perfectionistic concerns and attitudes toward doping was partially mediated by controlled motivation.

Conclusions

The findings suggested that fostering perfectionistic strivings and autonomous motivation and reducing perfectionistic concerns and controlled motivation may be considered for inclusion in athletes’ anti-doping education.

Toward Prevention of Doping in Youth Sport: Cross-Sectional Analysis of Correlates of Doping Tendency in Swimming

Doping is recognized as one of the most important problems in sports, but a limited number of studies have investigated doping problems in youth athletes. This study aimed to evaluate doping tendency (potential doping behavior (PDB)) and correlates of PDB in youth age swimmers. The participants were 241 competitive swimmers (131 females; 15.3 ± 1.1 years of age, all under 18 years old). Variables included predictors and PDB (criterion). Predictors consisted of sociodemographic factors (gender and age), sport-related variables (i.e., experience in swimming and sport achievement), variables explaining coaching strategy and training methodology, consumption of dietary supplements (DS), knowledge about doping, and knowledge about sports nutrition and DS (KSN). In addition to the descriptive statistics and differences between genders, a multinomial regression using PDB as the criterion (negative-, neutral-, or positive-PDB, with a negative-PDB as the reference value) was calculated to define associations between predictors and criterion. With only 71% of swimmers who declared negative-PDB results indicated an alarming figure. Boys with better KSN were more negatively oriented toward positive-PDB (OR: 0.77, 95%CI: 0.60–0.95). In girls, lower competitive achievement was evidenced as a risk factor for neutral-PDB (OR: 0.39, 95%CI: 0.24–0.63). Also, higher neutral-PDB (OR: 0.88, 95%CI: 0.81–0.96) and positive-PDB (OR: 0.90, 95%CI: 0.83–0.99) were identified in girls who began with intensive training in younger age. Because of the alarming figures of PDB, there is an evident need for the development of systematic antidoping educational programs in youth swimming. In doing so, focus should be placed on girls who began intensive training at an earlier age and those who did not achieve high competitive results.

Association between Motivational Climate, Adherence to Mediterranean Diet, and Levels of Physical Activity in Physical Education Students

Physical Education is an essential educational area to develop physical-healthy habits and motivational orientations, which are fundamental to guide the situation of future Physical Education teachers. These professionals will have a fundamental role in teaching different types of motivations, active lifestyles, and healthy habits in youths. For this reason, the objective of the study is to know the association between motivational climate, adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MD), and the practice of physical activity in future Physical Education teachers. A cross-sectional and nonexperimental study was carried out using a single measurement within a single group. The sample consisted of 775 university students from the cities of Andalusia (Spain). Motivational climate was evaluated through the Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire (PMCSQ-2), levels of physical activity were evaluated through the adolescent version of the Physical Activity Questionnaire (PAQ-A), and level of adherence to the MD was assessed through Mediterranean Diet Quality Index (KIDMED). On one hand, the healthy and self-improvement component promoted by physical activity favors an orientation focused on process and learning. Likewise, the competitive component is key to motivation focused on product and social recognition. In addition, future Physical Education teachers should pay special attention to the unequal recognition among members that physical activity can generate, in order to avoid personal disregard and social rejection. The ego climate is related to a high adherence to the MD. On the other hand, the future Physical Education teachers who manifest motivational processes based on fun and their own satisfaction have low levels of adherence to the MD.