Doping Use Belief

Abstract

The Doping Use Belief (DUB) is a brief psychometric instrument designed to assess the cognitive and ethical stance of individuals, typically athletes, toward the use and acceptance of performance-enhancing methods in competitive sport. The instrument specifically measures the degree of permissiveness an individual holds regarding the use of Performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), distinguishing between usage by top-level athletes and general athletic populations. The DUB is often employed alongside measures of doping behavior and general doping Attitude to provide a comprehensive profile of an athlete’s propensity toward prohibited practices.

Keywords

Doping, Belief, Attitude, Sport Psychology, Performance Enhancement, PEDs, Ethics, Sport Management, Doping in sport

Authors

Jasem Manouchehri, Farshad Tojari. Related foundational work on doping attitudes was conducted by Andrea Petróczi and Eugene Aidman.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Doping Use Belief (DUB) scale is to quantify an individual’s explicit belief system regarding the acceptability, justification, and ethical permissibility of using banned performance-enhancing substances and methods within the context of athletic competition. This measure is crucial for researchers studying the precursors to doping behavior, allowing for the isolation of cognitive factors that support or rationalize illicit substance use.

Furthermore, the DUB serves as a diagnostic tool in prevention science. By identifying populations that hold highly permissive beliefs toward doping, interventions can be tailored to address specific cognitive distortions or ethical rationalizations before they translate into actual doping behavior. The scale provides distinct insights into whether these beliefs differ based on the competitive level of the athlete (e.g., top-level vs. all athletes).

Construct

The DUB measures the cognitive component of Attitude towards doping. This construct focuses not on the emotional or behavioral intention elements of attitude, but specifically on the rationalized beliefs surrounding the fairness and necessity of using performance enhancers. The construct is rooted in the assumption that an individual’s belief structure—their judgments about what should be allowed—is a significant precursor to their behavioral intentions and subsequent actions regarding rule-breaking in sport.

The scale captures the degree to which an athlete internalizes ethical standards and rules set by organizations such as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). High scores indicate a permissive belief structure, suggesting the individual believes that the competitive demands of modern sport justify or necessitate the allowance of banned substances, either with or without restrictions.

Validity

Validation studies, particularly those conducted by Manouchehri and Tojari (2013), focused on establishing the face, content, and construct validity of the instrument. Content validity was ensured through expert review and alignment with established definitions of doping beliefs. Construct validity is typically confirmed through correlational analysis, demonstrating that the DUB scores correlate positively with other established measures of doping attitudes, such as the Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale (PEAS), and predictive measures of doping behavior.

Furthermore, the scale is expected to demonstrate discriminant validity by showing lower correlations with unrelated psychological constructs, such as general personality traits or non-sport-specific measures. When used in conjunction with behavioral measures, the DUB’s ability to correctly classify individuals based on their self-reported or observed doping status provides evidence for its criterion validity.

Reliability

The reliability of the DUB scale is typically established through internal consistency checks, primarily using Cronbach’s Alpha. Although the core belief component is brief (two items), when combined with broader attitude measures or used as a subscale, acceptable levels of internal consistency are required. Research suggests that well-constructed doping scales achieve Alpha values typically ranging from 0.70 to 0.90, indicating good homogeneity among items designed to measure the underlying belief construct.

Test-retest reliability is also important, ensuring that the measure yields consistent results when administered to the same group of athletes over a reasonable period, assuming no significant intervention or change in competitive environment has occurred. High test-retest reliability confirms the stability of the underlying belief structure being measured.

Factor Analysis

The DUB, as presented in its core form, addresses a unidimensional construct: the permissiveness of doping use. However, when combined with related items (such as the Doping Behavior items presented in the source content), Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) or Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) is used to confirm the distinct components of the overall instrument. Studies often separate attitude components (cognitive, affective), behavioral intentions, and self-reported behavior into distinct factors.

The use of Structural equation analysis (as cited in Petróczi’s foundational work) has been applied to demonstrate the theoretical relationship between beliefs (DUB), general attitude (PEAS), sport orientation, and ultimate doping behavior, confirming the fit of the hypothesized model where beliefs precede and influence behavior.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire / Psychometric scale

Format: Fixed-choice response format, utilizing both custom scoring for belief/behavior questions and potentially a 6-point Likert scale for related attitude items.

Language Available: English, potentially translated versions (e.g., Persian/Farsi based on authors’ affiliation).

Population Group: Competitive Athletes, general sporting population, and related stakeholders (coaches, administrators).

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults (typically 16+ involved in organized sport).

Population Details: Athletes across various competitive levels, ranging from amateur to professional, often segmented by type of sport (individual vs. team).

Test Methodology: Pen-and-paper or digital administration, requiring respondents to explicitly state their opinions and self-report their experiences regarding banned substances.

Keywords

Psychological assessment, Sporting ethics, PEDs, Anti-Doping policies, Measurement, Psychometric properties

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Information not provided in source material)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Information not provided in source material)

Correspondence Address: N/A (Information not provided in source material)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: The instrument is often utilized in academic research. Researchers should consult the primary validation article (Manouchehri & Tojari, 2013) or the related Petróczi papers for specific usage permissions. The instrument’s core items are frequently published openly in academic literature.

Fee: Generally available for non-commercial academic research without a fee, though this should be confirmed with the authors.

Test Year: The primary validation and development of the Doping Use Belief instrument occurred around 2013, as detailed in the European Journal of Experimental Biology publication.

Reference’s

• Petroczi, A. (2006). Measuring attitude toward doping: Further evidence for the psychometric properties of the Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale. 14th Congress of the European Association for Sport Management. Nicosia, Cyprus. September 2006.
• Petróczi, Andrea.‚ Aidman, Eugene. (2009). Measuring explicit attitude toward doping: Review of the psychometric properties of the Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale. Psychology of Sport and Exercise‚ 10(3)‚ 390–396.
• Petróczi, Andrea. (2007). Attitudes and doping: a structural equation analysis of the relationship between athletes’ attitudes‚ sport orientation and doping behavior. Substance Abuse Treatment‚ Prevention‚ and Policy‚ 2:34. DOI: 10.1186/1747-597X-2-34. The instrument can be found at this source: https://substanceabusepolicy.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1747-597X-2-34
• Manouchehri ‚Jasem and Tojari‚Farshad. (2013). Development and validation of instruments to measure doping attitudes and doping beliefs. European Journal of Experimental Biology‚ 3(2):183-186.

Items of the Doping Use Belief (DUB)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

• Doping Believe
1. Do you believe that performance-enhancing drugs/methods should be allowed for top level athletes?

Yes‚ without restrictions (2)‚ Yes‚ but with restrictions (1)‚ Absolutely not (0)

2. Do you believe that performance-enhancing drugs/methods should be allowed for all athletes?

Yes‚ without restrictions (2)‚ Yes‚ but with restrictions (1)‚ Absolutely not (0)

• Doping Behavior
1. Have you ever had personal experience with banned performance-enhancing drugs and/or methods?

Yes (3)‚ Yes‚ but only for treating a medical condition (2)‚ No (0)‚ I do not wish to answer (1)

2. Do you currently use banned performance-enhancing drugs?

Yes (3)‚ Yes‚ but only for treating a medical condition (2)‚ No (0)‚ I do not wish to answer (1)

Note on Response Scale (Often used for general attitude items in related instruments):

1= Strongly disagree‚ 2= Disagree‚ 3= Slightly disagree‚ 4= Slightly agree‚ 5= Agree‚ 6=Strongly agree