High-School Athletes’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions on Doping: The Cyprus Sport-School Study
Doping constitutes one of the main problems in sports. The importance of sociological research on doping is widely accepted. However, such studies in Cyprus are scarce. The purpose of this study was twofold; first, it aimed to examine the knowledge about doping and the attitudes and perceptions towa...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-05-01
|
| Series: | Youth |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-995X/3/2/40 |
| _version_ | 1827735274274160640 |
|---|---|
| author | Olia Tsivitanidou Efstathios Christodoulides Michael Petrou |
| author_facet | Olia Tsivitanidou Efstathios Christodoulides Michael Petrou |
| author_sort | Olia Tsivitanidou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Doping constitutes one of the main problems in sports. The importance of sociological research on doping is widely accepted. However, such studies in Cyprus are scarce. The purpose of this study was twofold; first, it aimed to examine the knowledge about doping and the attitudes and perceptions towards sports and doping of high-school student athletes in Cyprus; and second, it aimed to explore whether the knowledge about doping and attitudes and perceptions towards sports and doping vary among student athletes with different characteristics (gender, nationality, engagement with team vs. individual sport, and grade level). The participants of this study were 164 high-school student athletes (16.6 ± 0.9 years old) who study in sports high schools in Cyprus, out of whom 106 were males (65.6%) and 57 (34.8%) females. Data were collected through the use of a questionnaire that was anonymously completed by the participants. A quantitative approach was used for analyzing the data. Descriptive statistics were calculated (i.e., mean, SD, and total scores for knowledge), and non-parametric tests (Mann–Whitney, Kruskal–Wallis) were employed, for comparing responses among different athlete groups on their knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of doping. The findings reveal that most of the participants lack basic knowledge on doping issues. In terms of their attitudes and perceptions, most of the participants considered doping a serious problem in sports while demonstrating mostly negative attitudes towards doping. Statistically significant differences were found to exist in terms of knowledge among students of different nationalities and high-school grade levels. Also, statistically significant differences were found to exist in terms of attitudes and perceptions towards sports and doping among students of different genders and sport categories (individual vs. team), while differences were also found to exist among students of different nationalities in relation to their attitudes towards sports. The findings have implications for policymaking and educational practices, with the most prevalent need being to design and implement training programs to raise awareness among young athletes about critical features of doping and sports. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:48:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-19a32761a6434aff9b99ebdcfb3f57bc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-995X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:48:45Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Youth |
| spelling | doaj.art-19a32761a6434aff9b99ebdcfb3f57bc2023-11-18T13:07:10ZengMDPI AGYouth2673-995X2023-05-013259662210.3390/youth3020040High-School Athletes’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions on Doping: The Cyprus Sport-School StudyOlia Tsivitanidou0Efstathios Christodoulides1Michael Petrou2School of Sciences, University of Central Lancashire Cyprus, Larnaca 7080, CyprusSchool of Sciences, University of Central Lancashire Cyprus, Larnaca 7080, CyprusCyprus Anti-Doping Authority, Makarion Athletic Centre Avenue, Engomi, Nicosia 2400, CyprusDoping constitutes one of the main problems in sports. The importance of sociological research on doping is widely accepted. However, such studies in Cyprus are scarce. The purpose of this study was twofold; first, it aimed to examine the knowledge about doping and the attitudes and perceptions towards sports and doping of high-school student athletes in Cyprus; and second, it aimed to explore whether the knowledge about doping and attitudes and perceptions towards sports and doping vary among student athletes with different characteristics (gender, nationality, engagement with team vs. individual sport, and grade level). The participants of this study were 164 high-school student athletes (16.6 ± 0.9 years old) who study in sports high schools in Cyprus, out of whom 106 were males (65.6%) and 57 (34.8%) females. Data were collected through the use of a questionnaire that was anonymously completed by the participants. A quantitative approach was used for analyzing the data. Descriptive statistics were calculated (i.e., mean, SD, and total scores for knowledge), and non-parametric tests (Mann–Whitney, Kruskal–Wallis) were employed, for comparing responses among different athlete groups on their knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of doping. The findings reveal that most of the participants lack basic knowledge on doping issues. In terms of their attitudes and perceptions, most of the participants considered doping a serious problem in sports while demonstrating mostly negative attitudes towards doping. Statistically significant differences were found to exist in terms of knowledge among students of different nationalities and high-school grade levels. Also, statistically significant differences were found to exist in terms of attitudes and perceptions towards sports and doping among students of different genders and sport categories (individual vs. team), while differences were also found to exist among students of different nationalities in relation to their attitudes towards sports. The findings have implications for policymaking and educational practices, with the most prevalent need being to design and implement training programs to raise awareness among young athletes about critical features of doping and sports.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-995X/3/2/40dopinganti-dopingeducationattitudeshigh-school athletes |
| spellingShingle | Olia Tsivitanidou Efstathios Christodoulides Michael Petrou High-School Athletes’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions on Doping: The Cyprus Sport-School Study Youth doping anti-doping education attitudes high-school athletes |
| title | High-School Athletes’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions on Doping: The Cyprus Sport-School Study |
| title_full | High-School Athletes’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions on Doping: The Cyprus Sport-School Study |
| title_fullStr | High-School Athletes’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions on Doping: The Cyprus Sport-School Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | High-School Athletes’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions on Doping: The Cyprus Sport-School Study |
| title_short | High-School Athletes’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions on Doping: The Cyprus Sport-School Study |
| title_sort | high school athletes knowledge attitudes and perceptions on doping the cyprus sport school study |
| topic | doping anti-doping education attitudes high-school athletes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-995X/3/2/40 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT oliatsivitanidou highschoolathletesknowledgeattitudesandperceptionsondopingthecyprussportschoolstudy AT efstathioschristodoulides highschoolathletesknowledgeattitudesandperceptionsondopingthecyprussportschoolstudy AT michaelpetrou highschoolathletesknowledgeattitudesandperceptionsondopingthecyprussportschoolstudy |