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This paper qualitatively explores national level athletes' willingness to report doping in sport. Following ethical approval, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine national level athletes from rugby league (n = 5) and track and field athletics (n = 4). Thematic analysis established the main themes within the data. Contextual differences existed around the role that athletes perceived they would play if they became aware of doping. Specifically, track and field athletes would adopt the role of a whistle-blower and report individuals who were doping in their sport. In comparison, the rugby league players highlighted a moral dilemma. Despite disagreeing with their teammates' actions, the players would adhere to a code of silence and refrain from reporting doping. Taking these findings into account, prevention programs might focus on changing broader group and community norms around doping. In doing so, community members' receptivity to prevention messages may increase. Moreover, developing skills to intervene (e.g., speaking out against social norms that support doping behavior) or increasing awareness of reporting lines could enhance community responsibility for doping prevention. In sum, the findings highlight the need to consider the context of sport and emphasize that a one-size-fits-all approach to anti-doping is problematic., (© 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

This study longitudinally evaluated whether maturation and relative age interact with time during adolescence to differentially affect the development of anthropometric and fitness characteristics in junior rugby league players. Anthropometric and fitness characteristics of 81 junior players selected into the UK Rugby Football League's talent identification and development process were assessed over three consecutive occasions (i.e., under-13s, -14s, -15s). Players were grouped and compared in relation to maturational status (i.e., early, average, late) and relative age quartile (i.e., quartile 1). Repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance identified significant (P < 0.001) overall main effects for maturation group, relative age quartile and importantly a maturation group by time interaction. Findings showed that the early-maturing group had the greatest anthropometric characteristics and medicine ball throw across the three occasions. However, the late-maturing group increased their height (early = 5.0 cm, late = 10.3 cm), medicine ball throw and 60-m sprint (early = -0.46 s, late = -0.85 s) the most throughout the 2-year period. Early (de)selection policies currently applied in talent identification and development programs are questionable when performance-related variables are tracked longitudinally. During adolescence, maturation status alongside relative age should be considered and controlled for when assessing athlete potential for future progression., (© 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The present study examined the impact of reputation information on athletes' behavioral responses to coaches within a naturalistic, field-based setting. Using a between-group design, male soccer players (n = 35) were assigned to one of three experimental conditions (i.e., experienced reputation, inexperienced reputation, no reputation) prior to taking part in a coaching session delivered by an unknown coach. Participants' behaviors indicative of attention to coach instruction, effort and persistence, and willingness to participate in demonstrations were video recorded throughout the coaching session. Multivariate analyses of variance revealed that participants in the experienced reputation condition exhibited significantly greater attention to coach instruction, and greater effort and persistence during free practice than participants in the inexperienced reputation condition. Results related to participants' willingness to participate in demonstrations failed to yield any significant differences. The results provide further evidence to support the contention that athletes use reputation information as a basis for their initial expectancies of coaches, and such expectancies have the potential to influence athletes' behavior during coach-athlete interactions. The findings also indicate that expectancies based on positive information may be more powerful than negatively framed expectancies, and can be harnessed by coaches as a means of developing effective relationships with their athletes., (© 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Nutritional supplement (NS) use is widespread in sport. This study applied an integrated social cognitive approach to examine doping attitudes, beliefs, and self-reported doping use behavior across NS users (n = 96) and nonusers (n = 116). Following ethical approval, 212 competitive athletes (age mean = 21.4, s = 4.5; 137 males) completed self-reported measures of doping-related social cognitions and behaviors, presented in an online format where completion implied consent. Significantly more NS users (22.9%) reported doping compared with nonusers (6.0%; U = 4628.0, P < 0.05). NS users presented significantly more positive attitudes toward doping (U = 3152.0, P < 0.05) and expressed a significantly greater belief that doping is effective (U = 3152.0, P < 0.05). When presented with the scenario that performance-enhancing substances are effective and increase the possibility of winning, NS users were significantly more in favor of competing in situations that allow doping (U = 3504.5, P < 0.05). In sum, doping use is three-and-a-half times more prevalent in NS users compared with nonusers. This finding is accompanied by significant differences in doping attitudes, norms, and beliefs. Thus, this article offers support for the gateway hypothesis; athletes who engage in legal performance enhancement practices appear to embody an "at-risk" group for transition toward doping. Education should be appropriately targeted., (© 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.)

Relative age effects (RAEs), reflecting observed inequalities in participation and attainment as a result of annual age-grouping policies in youth sport, are common in most team sports. The aims of this study were to determine if and when RAEs become apparent in Rugby League, determine how influential variables (e.g., gender) lead and clarify whether player retention at junior representative levels can explain persistent RAEs. Player data were collected for the male and female community games ranging from Under 7s to Senior (N=15,060) levels, junior representative selections (i.e., Regional) and professional players (N=298). Chi-square analyses found significant (P<0.05) uneven birth date distributions beginning at the earliest stages of the game and throughout into senior professionals. In junior representative selections, 47.0% of Regional and 55.7% of National representative players were born in Quartile 1, with RAE risk increasing with performance level. Gender and nationality were also found to moderate RAE risk. When tracking representative juniors, over 50% were retained for similar competition the following season. Findings clearly demonstrate that RAEs exist throughout Rugby League with early selection, performance level and retention processes, appearing to be key contributing factors responsible for RAE persistence.

This study was designed to determine the effects of ingesting a carbohydrate (CHO) solution on affective states and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) during prolonged intermittent high-intensity exercise. Seventeen male soccer players completed a prolonged intermittent high-intensity exercise protocol for 90 min on two occasions, separated by at least 7 days. Participants consumed either a 6.4% CHO (0.6 g/kg body mass (BM)/h) or an artificially sweetened placebo (PLA) solution immediately before (8 mL/kg BM) and every 15 min (3 mL/kg BM) during exercise in a double-blind, counterbalanced design. Pleasure-displeasure, perceived activation, RPE and plasma glucose concentration was assessed. The results showed that compared with the CHO trial, perceived activation were lower in the placebo trial during the last 30 min of exercise and this was accompanied by lowered plasma glucose concentrations. In the CHO trial, RPE was maintained in the last 30 min of exercise but carried on increasing in the PLA trial. Therefore, CHO ingestion during prolonged high-intensity exercise appears to elicit an enhanced perceived activation profile that may impact upon task persistence and performance. This finding is in addition to the physiological and metabolic benefits of the exogenous energy supply.

The association of both leisure-time physical activity and obesity with lipoprotein-lipids and composite atherogenic markers were examined within a cross-sectional study of middle-aged men of higher socioeconomic status. Analyses were performed on a subsample (n=629) of non-smoking, non-diabetic men (46.7+/-7.8 years) who completed a preventive medical assessment between 1992 and 1996. Mean adjusted (age, body mass index (BMI), sum of skinfolds, fasting glucose, and logarithmic alcohol consumption) levels of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) were significantly higher, and logarithmic triglycerides significantly lower, with higher physical activity index (PAI) categories (both P<0.0001). Significantly lower adjusted mean ratios of both total cholesterol to HDL-C (TC:HDL-C), and logarithmic triglycerides to HDL-C (TG:HDL-C) with higher PAI were evident following adjustment for the above covariates (P=0.005 and P<0.0001). Age-adjusted non-HDL-C (total cholesterol minus HDL-C) decreased significantly with higher PAI categories, but was not significantly lower following covariate adjustment (P=0.150). On stepwise multiple regression, logarithmic physical activity score and BMI explained 9.5-14% of the variance in the TC:HDL-C and TG:HDL-C ratios in models including age, body mass, sum of skinfolds, fasting glucose and logarithmic alcohol consumption. Age, sum of skinfolds and logarithmic alcohol consumption were significant predictors of non-HDL-C (r2=8.0%). These findings emphasise the importance of both physical activity and obesity in predicting lipoprotein-lipid risk markers.

Achievement goal orientation theory has been the subject of extensive research in recent years. In view of the importance of identifying the motivational antecedents of affect in physical activity, this study examined through meta-analysis the conflicting evidence regarding the links between different achievement goals and emotions. Using the formulas of Hunter and Schmidt (1), correlations were gathered from 41 independent samples and were corrected for both sampling and measurement errors. The results showed that task orientation and positive affect were moderately-to-highly correlated and in a positive fashion, whereas the relationship between task orientation and negative affect was negative and moderate to small. Both correlations were found to be heterogeneous, and so moderators were sought. The relationships between ego orientation and positive and negative affect were positive but very small, with the former being heterogeneous. Moderators coded were the time frame of affect (independent of context vs. after an athletic event), the physical activity setting (school physical education vs. recreation vs. competitive sport), age (university vs. school students), nationality (British vs. American), nature of negative affect (high vs. low arousal), and the publication status of the studies (published vs. unpublished). Lastly, a subset of the corrected correlations were inserted into a structural equation modelling analysis in order to look concurrently at the relationships among all the variables.