Anti-doping sentiment in a student environment

Abstract

Doping scandals actively involved in the press with the participation of athletes from different sports and countries update the issue of awareness of athletes about the risk of taking prohibited drugs. The pursuit of sporting achievements at the price of using doping agents is unacceptable from a moral and ethical point of view of pure sport and is unsafe for the health of an athlete in general.

Full Text

RATIONALE Doping scandals actively involved in the press with the participation of athletes from different sports and countries update the issue of awareness of athletes about the risk of taking prohibited drugs. The pursuit of sporting achievements at the price of using doping agents is unacceptable from a moral and ethical point of view of pure sport and is unsafe for the health of an athlete in general. OBJECTIVE To identify the level of awareness and the risk of using drugs from the list of prohibited doping drugs among students of a sports university. METHODS A longitudinal panel study was conducted among student-athletes who were trained at the "Voronezh State Institute of Physical Training". The object of the study was a subjective risk assessment of the use of illicit drugs classified as doping drugs by students to achieve sports results. The duration of the study was one year. As a method of research we used a survey of students on a given topic and analysis of the results. The survey was conducted twice, the first time at the end of the 3rd year of study, the second - at the end of the 4th year. RESULTS The study involved 78 students who completed full-time studies in a sports university for the 3rd year and subsequently transferred to the 4th year. The choice of this contingent from the total number of university students is due to the planned study of the discipline "Fundamentals of anti-doping support" for the 4th year. The questions asked to students concerned their awareness of the drugs and methods included in the list of prohibited ones in sports, as well as an assessment of the possibility of using these drugs in personal sports practice. As a result of the initial survey conducted in May 2018, it was revealed that all respondents know about the list of prohibited drugs and methods, while 71.79% of them could name the main groups of prohibited drugs. The decision about the possibility of personal use of funds classified as doping, some students considered only in the case of a reasonable effect of prohibited drugs, as a result of a survey the number of such athletes was 41.02%. The following reasons were cited as reasons for the risk of doping: acceleration of recovery after considerable physical exertion, the need for a rapid set of muscle mass, stimulation of the nervous system and mental state in the competitive period. The permissibility of the use of prohibited means was due to not entering the pool of subjects for doping. During the 4th year, students were given explanations about the effects of doping agents, their side effects and the reasons for inclusion in the banned list. A repeated survey at the end of the 4th year (May 2019) revealed a significant positive trend in the survey results. Thus, the number of students able to name the main doping groups increased, which accounted for 83.3% of respondents respectively. The number of respondents critically evaluating the likelihood of personal use of illicit drugs has increased, only 11.53% of the students in the study suggested the possibility of taking doping agents. CONCLUSION Thus, the conducted research allowed to reveal the positive dynamics of the studied aspects, and the results of the re-survey testified to the importance of awareness of the effects and side effects of drugs for deciding whether it is possible to use doping in the personal practice of student-athletes.