Abstract
Introduction. The environment of youth sport in South Africa has transformed considerably, where adolescent athletes are faced with more pressure from coaches, peers and parents to perform well. Some of the athletes are using nutritional supplements or prohibited means such as doping to cope with these pressures and gain an edge in competition. Objectives. In view of the lack of literature investigating the use of doping in South African adolescents, the objective of the study was to determine the attitudes and perceptions of male adolescent athletes regarding performance-enhancing substance (PES) use. Methods. The design of the study was cross-sectional and used a self-administered questionnaire. A sample of participants was obtained from male adolescent high school athletes involved in 1st and 2nd high school sports teams in Johannesburg boys high schools. Participants were invited to volunteer to participate in the study. Questionnaires were completed under conditions that were similar to an examination situation. Demographic data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results. The majority (91%) of the athletes indicated a belief that the number of athletes using PES in sport is increasing. Eightyfour per cent of them felt that there was pressure placed on them to use PES to win. Only 55% of respondents believed that doping tests would prohibit the use of banned substances and 91% did not believe that the sale of prohibited substances should be banned. The majority (88%) believed there is a need for further education. Conclusion. Although there is enormous pressure on high school boys to use PES, their knowledge is lacking, especially with regard to doping in sport.
Highlights
The environment of youth sport in South Africa has transformed considerably, where adolescent athletes are faced with more pressure from coaches, peers and parents to perform well
South African adolescent sport seems to have changed dramatically, as it appears that there are greater pressures placed on adolescent athletes to excel in sport and some are using performance-enhancing substances (PES) to cope with the demands placed on them.[4,5,6]
The knowledge regarding the use of doping in adolescent sport seems to be deficient, and the majority of the participants (88%) indicated that there was a need for more education on prohibited and non-prohibited PES use
Summary
The environment of youth sport in South Africa has transformed considerably, where adolescent athletes are faced with more pressure from coaches, peers and parents to perform well. Some of the athletes are using nutritional supplements or prohibited means such as doping to cope with these pressures and gain an edge in competition. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is the leader in the fight against doping in sport This agency publishes a list of prohibited substances, which is updated on an annual basis.[1] The South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) is one of the many signatories that complies with WADA’s prohibited list, and publishes an annual prohibited list based on South African brand names.[2] Doping is regarded as a form of cheating where athletes use substances that are on these prohibited lists, predominantly for gaining an edge over their competitors.[3] An alternative to doping can be nutritional substance use, which helps to improve the health and performance of active adolescent athletes. South African adolescent sport seems to have changed dramatically, as it appears that there are greater pressures placed on adolescent athletes to excel in sport and some are using performance-enhancing substances (PES) to cope with the demands placed on them.[4,5,6] The problem is that some of the PES are listed as prohibited, and adolescent athletes might be tempted to use these because the pressures and stresses facing them may be too immense to resist.[1]
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