Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale (PEAS)

Abstract

The Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale (PEAS) is a widely used psychometric instrument designed to measure the explicit attitude of athletes toward the use of doping and performance-enhancing methods in competitive sport. Developed primarily by Andrea Petróczi and colleagues, the scale helps researchers and anti-doping agencies understand the cognitive justifications, normalization, and acceptance of risk related to prohibited substance use among athletic populations. The instrument consists of 17 items scored on a 6-point Likert scale, demonstrating strong psychometric properties across various international samples.

Keywords

Doping, Attitude, Sports Psychology, Performance Enhancement, PEAS, Athletes, Explicit Attitude, Sport Ethics, Performance-enhancing drugs

Authors

Petróczi, Andrea, Aidman, Eugene

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale (PEAS) is to provide a reliable and valid quantitative measure of an athlete’s explicit attitude towards the acceptability and justification of using prohibited substances or methods to improve athletic performance. By quantifying these attitudes, the scale serves as a valuable tool for predicting doping propensity, evaluating the effectiveness of anti-doping educational programs, and informing policy development within sporting organizations. The scale specifically targets the rationalizations and beliefs that athletes hold regarding fair play, necessity, and the perceived risks associated with doping.

Construct

The PEAS measures the psychological construct of explicit attitude toward doping behavior. This construct encompasses the conscious, deliberate beliefs and evaluative judgments an athlete holds regarding the use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). Rather than measuring actual doping behavior, PEAS focuses on the underlying cognitive structure that justifies or normalizes doping. Key facets of this construct include:

• Normalization of Doping (e.g., “everyone does it”).
• Acceptance of Risk versus Benefit (e.g., minimizing health risks).
• Justification based on competitive necessity or injury recovery.
• Acceptance of performance enhancement regardless of means (technological or pharmacological).

Validity

Validation studies, particularly those conducted by Petróczi and colleagues, confirm the structural and criterion validity of the PEAS. The scale has demonstrated strong construct validity, showing significant correlations with related psychological factors such as sport orientation and moral disengagement. Furthermore, research using structural equation modeling has confirmed the hypothesized relationship between athletes’ attitudes measured by PEAS, their sport orientation, and subsequent reported doping behavior, establishing its predictive utility. The scale has been successfully validated across diverse cultural and sporting contexts.

Reliability

The reliability of the Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale is consistently reported as high. The internal consistency of the PEAS, typically measured using Cronbach’s Alpha, has been robust across various sample populations and studies. Estimates of the PEAS’ internal consistency ranged between 0.71 and 0.91 across various samples, indicating that the scale items reliably measure the same underlying construct (Petroczi, 2009). This consistency suggests the scale is a stable and dependable measure of doping attitude.

Factor Analysis

Initial development and subsequent review of the PEAS utilized factor analysis to explore its underlying structure. While the scale is often treated as a single measure of overall attitude toward doping, early research confirmed that the 17 items loaded onto factors reflecting specific dimensions of justification and acceptance. These dimensions often include factors related to the perceived necessity of performance-enhancing drugs, the normalization of doping practices, and attitudes regarding media portrayal and risk assessment. The robust factor structure supports the scale’s ability to capture the multifaceted nature of doping attitudes.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Questionnaire

Format: 17 items scored on a 6-point Likert scale, where 1= Strongly disagree, 2= Disagree, 3= Slightly disagree, 4= Slightly agree, 5= Agree, 6=Strongly agree.

Language Available: English, and versions have been translated and validated in several other languages (e.g., Iranian/Persian).

Population Group: Athletes (amateur, professional, and elite levels)

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults (typically 16 years and older)

Population Details: Primarily used with competitive athletes across various sports disciplines.

Test Methodology: The scale is typically administered in a group setting or individually, requiring respondents to indicate their level of agreement with each statement regarding performance enhancement practices.

Keywords

Sport Psychology, Doping Attitude, Measurement, Psychometrics, Ethical Justification, Competitive Sport

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Information not available in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: Information not available in source content.

Correspondence Address: Information not available in source content.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale (PEAS) was initially developed and presented in 2006, with significant psychometric review and validation published in 2007 and 2009. The scale is often utilized in academic research settings. For specific usage permissions or commercial applications, researchers should contact the primary author, Andrea Petróczi. The core instrument development and validation details can be accessed via the provided academic papers. The original PDF outlining the development and validation of a doping scale can be downloaded here: http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/19312/1/UCD_Research_The_Development_and_Validation_of_a_Doping_Scale.pdf

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. The original PDF can be downloaded here: https://www.easm.net/download/2006/9451e6bbde5c23c7e936f3bf24d65a54.pdf
• 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
• 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.
• 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.
• Soltanabadi, Sahar., Tojari, Farshad and Manouchehri, Jasem. (2014). Validity and reliability of measurement instrument of Doping Attitudes and Doping behavior in Iranian professional athletes team of team sports. Indian Journal of Fundamental and Applied Life Sciences ISSN: 2231– 6345 (Online). An Open Access, Online International Journal Available at www.cibtech.org/sp.ed/jls/2014/04/jls.htm. 2014 Vol. 4 (S4), pp. 280-286.

Items of the Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale (PEAS)

1. Doping is necessary to be competitive.
2. Doping is not cheating since everyone does it.
3. Athletes often lose time due to injuries and drugs can help to make up the lost time.
4. Only the quality of performance should matter, not the way athletes achieve it.
5. Athletes in my sport are pressured to take performance-enhancing drugs.
6. Athletes, who take recreational drugs, use them because they help them in sport situations.
7. Athletes should not feel guilty about breaking the rules and taking performance-enhancing drugs.
8. The risks related to doping are exaggerated.
9. Athletes have no alternative career choices, but sport.
10. Recreational drugs give the motivation to train and compete at the highest level. [Recreational drugs assist in motivating athletes to train and compete at the highest level.]
11. Doping is an unavoidable part of the competitive sport.
12. Recreational drugs help to overcome boredom during training. [Recreational drugs help to overcome boredom outside of competition]
13. There is no difference between drugs, fiberglass poles, and speedy swimsuits that are all used to enhance performance. [There is no difference between drugs and the technical equipment that can be used to enhance performance (e.g. hypoxic altitude simulating environments)]
14. Media should talk less about doping.
15. The media blows the doping issue out of proportion.
16. Health problems related to rigorous training and injuries are just as bad as from doping. [Health problems related to rigorous training and injuries are just as bad doping side effects.]
17. Legalizing performance enhancements would be beneficial for sports.