A national investigation of psychosocial factors facilitating doping in bodybuilders

Summary
The qualitative study draws conclusions from interviews with bodybuilders from England who practice doping behaviors and, within the framework of moral disengagement, identifies six ways in which an athlete justifies their to dope. The study provides a better understanding of the process of rationalizing doping and can help inform strategies to educate athletes and prevent moral disengagement.

Methodology

The study follows a cross-sectional research design. The researchers conducted interviews with sixty-four (64) bodybuilders from England who dope and, through deductive reasoning, identified ways in which moral disengagement can clarify the reasons for which an athlete decides to practice doping behaviors.

Results

The researchers identified six ways of justifying doping behaviours: 
• Moral justifications, in which the rationalization is based on downplaying the impact of doping; 
• Euphemistic labeling, i.e., speaking of drugs in such a way that makes them seem safer and less risky, e.g., referring to steroids as “juice”; 
• Advantageous comparison, in which an athlete declares doping reasonable because they are not smoking or drinking alcohol; 
• Displacement of responsibilities, i.e., “everyone else is doing it, so I have to”; 
• Diffusion of responsibility, i.e., “if everyone is doing it, it must be right”; 
• Distortion of consequences, in which an athlete deemphasizes the degree of harm caused by doping.

Significance for Clean Sport

The study examines moral disengagement and its role as a set of behaviors that athletes adopt to rationalize doping. The results provide a toolkit for identifying the reasons to dope within the proposed framework and help design strategies to counteract them. Research conducted by Boardley and Dewar can be used to inform educational approaches aimed at preventing moral disengagement. 

Doping in bodybuilders: a qualitative investigation of facilitative psychosocial processes

Moral disengagement and associated processes in performance-enhancing drug use: a national qualitative investigation