Perceived incidence of drug use in Australian sport: a survey of athletes and coaches.

Doping control statistics suggest that only 1–2% of athletes are doping. However, studies of theperceivedincidence of doping suggest that athletes believe that doping may be far more prevalent. Perceptions may potentially be of greater significance than actual incidence: athletes who believe that other athletes are doping may be more likely to engage in such practices, potentially creating a damaging self-fulfilling prophecy. This study investigated the perceptions of 609 Australian elite athletes and coaches about the extent of doping in sport. Data were collected via a self-completed survey. Results showed that the perceived incidence of performance-enhancing drug use was approximately 19% (30% for perceived incidence of recreational drug use). Findings are discussed in relation to how perceptions might influence athletes through the creation of damaging self-fulfilling prophecies, and how sporting associations have attempted to control testing procedures to influence perceptions of drug use in sport. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]