Abstract
Doping is a worldwide problem that compromises fair play and integrity in sport, yet it is estimated that 39% of high-performance athletes intentionally dope. Athletes at sub-elite levels also feel pressure to dope, and up to 60% have used a legal performance-enhancing substance. Anti-doping interventions have reasonable effects for imparting knowledge and instilling motivation to avoid doping; however, no studies have identified behavioural targets for interventions nor established means to measure anti-doping behaviours. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to develop an inventory of anti-doping protective behaviours. Using a Delphi methodology, we solicited ideas from two panels of international experts: (1) researchers in the psychology of doping (n = 15, Mean = 14 years’ experience, Mean = 20 publications in the field) and (2) anti-doping educators (n = 8, Mean = 7.5 years’ experience). Participants identified 129 behaviours athletes could engage in on a daily and occasional basis to avoid doping. We applied a summative content analysis and identified six categories: (1) knowing, following, and checking for updates to the anti-doping rules; (2) seeking education on doping and healthy/clean means of training and recovery, (3) checking ingredients, monitoring, and documenting food and supplement consumption, (4) engaging professionals (e.g., coaches, dieticians, doctors) in efforts to stay clean, (5) maintaining social groups that support clean sport, and (6) advocating for clean sport. The next steps for this research are to identify the most important protective behaviours and determine whether they can differentiate athletes at high- and low-risk of doping.
