Approaching the gateway to doping hypothesis through personality analysis

Abstract

The relation between dark personality traits and fraudulent behaviour like doping in sports is empirically well established. However, the factors that lead athletes to start using illegal substances are less known. The gateway to doping hypothesis posits that widespread dietary supplement usage among athletes could potentially desensitise them, increasing the inclination towards doping use. To examine this hypothesis, the personality structure of athletes using dietary supplements for diverse motives is examined, aiming to identify patterns indicative of doping propensity, including dark traits, perfectionism, ego and task orientation and attitude towards doping. The final sample comprises 687 athletes (479 women; mean age = 26.06 ± 9.21 years). The findings suggest that the overall use and frequency of dietary supplement intake are not significantly predicted by personality traits indicative of a predisposition towards doping. While athletes that use supplements to enhance performance, regeneration, and body shape display a slightly more favourable attitude towards doping, dark traits exhibit an inverse link across all motives (except body shape enhancement) with substantial effect sizes. Although doping usage is not assessed in this study, the outcomes indicate that personality structures associated with doping do not predict dietary supplement use, thus challenging the gateway to doping hypothesis.