- Email: [email protected]
Attitudes to drug testing and anti-doping education in elite Australian athletes
2010 Asics Conference of Science and Medicine in Sport / Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 13S (2010) e1–e107
the future of the anti-doping policy using existing and cutting edge research from the sports medicine community. That is, we look to the lessons learned to see how the future might be shaped as we move towards a second generation of policies to manage the role of drugs in sport. ASADA introduces the Australian policy context to managing drugs in sport as a departure point for looking at how research informs anti-doping policy. The first two papers examine the response of athletes and athlete support personnel to the anti-doping policy and how this might inform where the policy might evolve. The third paper considers how the lessons learned from a primary prevention of doping among adolescents inform future anti-doping education at non-elite levels. The final two papers outline new directions for prevention activity by exploring the psychology of athlete doping. The symposium concludes with a commentary on how the research can inform the evolution of anti-doping towards a second generation policy to manage drugs in sport. Paper Title 1: ASADA: Australia’s driving force for pure performance in sport. Paper Title 2: Attitudes to drug testing and anti-doping education in elite Australian athletes. Paper Title 3: Doping and athlete support personnel: What do they know and do? Paper Title 4: CleanEdge: Lessons learned about primary prevention of doping among adolescents. Paper Title 5: An integrated framework: Identifying risk and protective factors for doping in sport. Paper Title 6: What drives athletes to take performance enhancing drugs? Insights from a choice modeling experiment. Paper Title 7: Beyond self-report in doping: Validating declared substance use in sport with hair sample analysis. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2010.10.495 35 ASADA: Australia’s driving force for pure performance in sport S. Watt, C. Owens ∗ Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority, Australia Maintaining the edge against those athletes who chose to cheat at sport through doping is a tough business. In Australia, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) is charged with developing a sporting culture free from doping in which performance is based on an athlete’s talent, determination, courage and honesty. One of ASADA’s priorities is to protect clean athletes, and the sports in which they compete, through comprehensive education around risks and the repercussions of doping. During this session, ASADA will provide the group with: an outline of ASADA mission statement and the Deterrence, Detection and Enforcement strategy; an overview of ASADA’s education strategy and plan; where sports support personnel fit into our education strategy; clarify the responsibilities of support personnel under the WADA
e17
code; highlight the importance of research and its use in ASADA programs. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2010.10.496 36 Attitudes to drug testing and anti-doping education in elite Australian athletes R. Orr ∗ , M. Grassmayr, R. Macniven, A. Grunseit, A. Bauman The University of Sydney, Australia Introduction: In 2008–2009, ASADA conducted 4212 government-funded drug tests across 57 sports and 3286 user-pays tests for Australian sporting bodies or other organizations. A recent survey of Australian athletes endorsed both drug testing as a deterrent against performance enhancing drug use and the severity of current punishments for doping in sport. However, despite extensive anti-doping programs, little is known of athletes’ knowledge and attitudes towards drug testing procedure and how or where athletes seek information about prohibited substances. Methodology: A 53-item, psychometrically-tested questionnaire was administered that surveyed athletes’ knowledge, attitudes, intentions and behaviour of anti-doping policy, drug testing, prohibited substances and anti-doping education. The majority of the items required a Likert-type scale response. Participants were recruited through National and State Institutes of Sport or via sport governing organizations. Results and conclusion: Two hundred and sixty-two elite athletes (53% male, mean age 20.2 ± 5.2 years) from a variety of team (31%) and individual sports (69%) completed the questionnaire. The majority of athletes (62%) competed at national or international level, yet only 26% had ever undergone a drug test. Twenty three percent of drug tested athletes had not been tested for over 12 months, 61% were tested on one or two occasions in the previous year while 16% were tested 3–6 times. When asked about drug testing, 68% considered an effective drug testing program important for their sport and 61% indicated that testing 1–3 times per year would be appropriate. Over half of the athletes did not know the penalty for a doping violation in their sport and only 32% considered they were informed of the drug testing procedure. Sixty nine percent identified where they could seek information about drug testing; sources included the internet (42%), ASADA (25%), support staff (19%) and sporting bodies (11%). However athletes believed that anti-doping education would best be offered by presentations (28%), resource packs (28%), internet (20%), email (13%) and/or a hotline (10%). Only 50% of athletes had received information about drug testing and furthermore, only 22% of athletes considered they were informed about performance enhancing substances. Indeed 54% reported they did not know where they could check if a substance was banned. The majority of athletes do not
e18
2010 Asics Conference of Science and Medicine in Sport / Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 13S (2010) e1–e107
believe they are well informed about drug testing and performance enhancing substances. There is a need to develop more effective anti-doping education strategies. This study is supported by the Department of Health and Ageing through the Anti-Doping Research Program.
38
doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2010.10.497
Sports Medicine Australia – Victorian Branch, Australia
37 Doping and athlete support personnel: What do they know and do? J. Connor 1,∗ , J. Mazanov 1 , S. Backhouse 2 , F. Quirk 3 1 UNSW@ADFA,
United Kingdom Metropolitan, United Kingdom 3 James Cook University 2 Leeds
Background: Under the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC), athlete support personnel have specific obligations in regards to reporting and advice. For example, athlete support personnel are required to be knowledgeable about and comply with the WADC. To date, little attention has been paid to the level of awareness of these obligations and to what extent education is needed for athlete support personnel. Method: A national, on-line survey of Australian athlete support personnel was conducted from late 2009 through 2010. The survey consisted of four main parts. The first was a test of knowledge regarding various elements of the WADC. The second was attitude towards performance enhancement in sport. The third was a section on when performance enhancing substance use might be acceptable. Finally, self-presentation bias was measured to control for social desirability. Following the survey, a range of athlete support personnel from across Australia were interviewed for their experience of anti-doping. Results/discussion: Preliminary results indicated that while athlete support personnel had a reasonable grasp of WADC rules and procedures, there was confusion about the responsibilities of athlete support personnel. Further, more education around specimen collection, supplement use and how a substance is prohibited was necessary. Interview data was unavailable at the time of writing. Overall, the results indicated that if athlete support personnel are to be given responsibility under the WADC, national anti-doping organisations need to engage with and support this group directly in meeting their anti-doping obligations. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2010.10.498
CleanEdge: Lessons learned about primary prevention of doping among adolescents L. Sheehan
The aim of this symposium session is present the results of research conducted on CleanEdge. CleanEdge is a collection of on-line resources aimed at providing primary prevention of doping with a focus at the non-elite levels of sport, specifically community and adolescent sports. The resources are targeted in two ways; the first is exposing users to known methods of enhancing sporting performance excluding doping, and the second is education about the consequences of doping. CleanEdge offers a range of resources and activities for athletes, adolescent athletes, teachers, coaches and parents to engage with the issue of how to approach sporting performance enhancement without doping. Through 2010, various aspects of the CleanEdge program were evaluated relative to their effect on adolescents (both athlete and non-athlete). The results of these efforts are reviewed towards establishing the lessons learned about assessing the effectiveness of primary prevention in anti-doping. We discuss the key successes and failures of both the website and the activities assessed under the evaluation and outline plans to strengthen the CleanEdge site. These ideas are then extrapolated to broader interventions on doping, exploring opportunities for future research and the implications for anti-doping education. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2010.10.499 39 An integrated framework: Identifying risk and protective factors for doping in sport C. Dickinson ∗ , F. Quirk James Cook University, Australia Introduction: Literature that addresses the key issues that underpin decision making processes involved with doping in sport has been limited. Specific applications of clinical psychology methods and health psychology theories of behaviour were incorporated in a recent study to identify attitudes and beliefs relating to the motivations, temptations and decision making processes involved with doping in sport. Models that represent the issues and factors participants believed contribute to the decisional process surrounding doping were identified across levels of engagement in sport and include the social contextualisation of doping. This research has identified risk and protective factors that contribute to the development of an integrated framework for prevention, intervention and support for athletes and support personnel related to doping in sport. Methodology: Initial data was sourced (n = 234) from questionnaires based on
the future of the anti-doping policy using existing and cutting edge research from the sports medicine community. That is, we look to the lessons learned to see how the future might be shaped as we move towards a second generation of policies to manage the role of drugs in sport. ASADA introduces the Australian policy context to managing drugs in sport as a departure point for looking at how research informs anti-doping policy. The first two papers examine the response of athletes and athlete support personnel to the anti-doping policy and how this might inform where the policy might evolve. The third paper considers how the lessons learned from a primary prevention of doping among adolescents inform future anti-doping education at non-elite levels. The final two papers outline new directions for prevention activity by exploring the psychology of athlete doping. The symposium concludes with a commentary on how the research can inform the evolution of anti-doping towards a second generation policy to manage drugs in sport. Paper Title 1: ASADA: Australia’s driving force for pure performance in sport. Paper Title 2: Attitudes to drug testing and anti-doping education in elite Australian athletes. Paper Title 3: Doping and athlete support personnel: What do they know and do? Paper Title 4: CleanEdge: Lessons learned about primary prevention of doping among adolescents. Paper Title 5: An integrated framework: Identifying risk and protective factors for doping in sport. Paper Title 6: What drives athletes to take performance enhancing drugs? Insights from a choice modeling experiment. Paper Title 7: Beyond self-report in doping: Validating declared substance use in sport with hair sample analysis. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2010.10.495 35 ASADA: Australia’s driving force for pure performance in sport S. Watt, C. Owens ∗ Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority, Australia Maintaining the edge against those athletes who chose to cheat at sport through doping is a tough business. In Australia, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) is charged with developing a sporting culture free from doping in which performance is based on an athlete’s talent, determination, courage and honesty. One of ASADA’s priorities is to protect clean athletes, and the sports in which they compete, through comprehensive education around risks and the repercussions of doping. During this session, ASADA will provide the group with: an outline of ASADA mission statement and the Deterrence, Detection and Enforcement strategy; an overview of ASADA’s education strategy and plan; where sports support personnel fit into our education strategy; clarify the responsibilities of support personnel under the WADA
e17
code; highlight the importance of research and its use in ASADA programs. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2010.10.496 36 Attitudes to drug testing and anti-doping education in elite Australian athletes R. Orr ∗ , M. Grassmayr, R. Macniven, A. Grunseit, A. Bauman The University of Sydney, Australia Introduction: In 2008–2009, ASADA conducted 4212 government-funded drug tests across 57 sports and 3286 user-pays tests for Australian sporting bodies or other organizations. A recent survey of Australian athletes endorsed both drug testing as a deterrent against performance enhancing drug use and the severity of current punishments for doping in sport. However, despite extensive anti-doping programs, little is known of athletes’ knowledge and attitudes towards drug testing procedure and how or where athletes seek information about prohibited substances. Methodology: A 53-item, psychometrically-tested questionnaire was administered that surveyed athletes’ knowledge, attitudes, intentions and behaviour of anti-doping policy, drug testing, prohibited substances and anti-doping education. The majority of the items required a Likert-type scale response. Participants were recruited through National and State Institutes of Sport or via sport governing organizations. Results and conclusion: Two hundred and sixty-two elite athletes (53% male, mean age 20.2 ± 5.2 years) from a variety of team (31%) and individual sports (69%) completed the questionnaire. The majority of athletes (62%) competed at national or international level, yet only 26% had ever undergone a drug test. Twenty three percent of drug tested athletes had not been tested for over 12 months, 61% were tested on one or two occasions in the previous year while 16% were tested 3–6 times. When asked about drug testing, 68% considered an effective drug testing program important for their sport and 61% indicated that testing 1–3 times per year would be appropriate. Over half of the athletes did not know the penalty for a doping violation in their sport and only 32% considered they were informed of the drug testing procedure. Sixty nine percent identified where they could seek information about drug testing; sources included the internet (42%), ASADA (25%), support staff (19%) and sporting bodies (11%). However athletes believed that anti-doping education would best be offered by presentations (28%), resource packs (28%), internet (20%), email (13%) and/or a hotline (10%). Only 50% of athletes had received information about drug testing and furthermore, only 22% of athletes considered they were informed about performance enhancing substances. Indeed 54% reported they did not know where they could check if a substance was banned. The majority of athletes do not
e18
2010 Asics Conference of Science and Medicine in Sport / Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 13S (2010) e1–e107
believe they are well informed about drug testing and performance enhancing substances. There is a need to develop more effective anti-doping education strategies. This study is supported by the Department of Health and Ageing through the Anti-Doping Research Program.
38
doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2010.10.497
Sports Medicine Australia – Victorian Branch, Australia
37 Doping and athlete support personnel: What do they know and do? J. Connor 1,∗ , J. Mazanov 1 , S. Backhouse 2 , F. Quirk 3 1 UNSW@ADFA,
United Kingdom Metropolitan, United Kingdom 3 James Cook University 2 Leeds
Background: Under the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC), athlete support personnel have specific obligations in regards to reporting and advice. For example, athlete support personnel are required to be knowledgeable about and comply with the WADC. To date, little attention has been paid to the level of awareness of these obligations and to what extent education is needed for athlete support personnel. Method: A national, on-line survey of Australian athlete support personnel was conducted from late 2009 through 2010. The survey consisted of four main parts. The first was a test of knowledge regarding various elements of the WADC. The second was attitude towards performance enhancement in sport. The third was a section on when performance enhancing substance use might be acceptable. Finally, self-presentation bias was measured to control for social desirability. Following the survey, a range of athlete support personnel from across Australia were interviewed for their experience of anti-doping. Results/discussion: Preliminary results indicated that while athlete support personnel had a reasonable grasp of WADC rules and procedures, there was confusion about the responsibilities of athlete support personnel. Further, more education around specimen collection, supplement use and how a substance is prohibited was necessary. Interview data was unavailable at the time of writing. Overall, the results indicated that if athlete support personnel are to be given responsibility under the WADC, national anti-doping organisations need to engage with and support this group directly in meeting their anti-doping obligations. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2010.10.498
CleanEdge: Lessons learned about primary prevention of doping among adolescents L. Sheehan
The aim of this symposium session is present the results of research conducted on CleanEdge. CleanEdge is a collection of on-line resources aimed at providing primary prevention of doping with a focus at the non-elite levels of sport, specifically community and adolescent sports. The resources are targeted in two ways; the first is exposing users to known methods of enhancing sporting performance excluding doping, and the second is education about the consequences of doping. CleanEdge offers a range of resources and activities for athletes, adolescent athletes, teachers, coaches and parents to engage with the issue of how to approach sporting performance enhancement without doping. Through 2010, various aspects of the CleanEdge program were evaluated relative to their effect on adolescents (both athlete and non-athlete). The results of these efforts are reviewed towards establishing the lessons learned about assessing the effectiveness of primary prevention in anti-doping. We discuss the key successes and failures of both the website and the activities assessed under the evaluation and outline plans to strengthen the CleanEdge site. These ideas are then extrapolated to broader interventions on doping, exploring opportunities for future research and the implications for anti-doping education. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2010.10.499 39 An integrated framework: Identifying risk and protective factors for doping in sport C. Dickinson ∗ , F. Quirk James Cook University, Australia Introduction: Literature that addresses the key issues that underpin decision making processes involved with doping in sport has been limited. Specific applications of clinical psychology methods and health psychology theories of behaviour were incorporated in a recent study to identify attitudes and beliefs relating to the motivations, temptations and decision making processes involved with doping in sport. Models that represent the issues and factors participants believed contribute to the decisional process surrounding doping were identified across levels of engagement in sport and include the social contextualisation of doping. This research has identified risk and protective factors that contribute to the development of an integrated framework for prevention, intervention and support for athletes and support personnel related to doping in sport. Methodology: Initial data was sourced (n = 234) from questionnaires based on