Perceptions of Doping in Competitive Male Cyclists Using the Performance Enhancement Attitudes Survey
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Keywords
PEAS, racers, cycling
Abstract
Introduction: Assessment and evaluation of attitudes on drug use with self-reported measures is a functional technique to capture performance enhancing drug use among competitive athletic populations. The purpose of this study was to compare attitude towards doping measured with the Performance Enhancement Attitude Survey (PEAS) scores across six USA Cycling road racing categories in competitive male cyclists who currently race.
Methods: Eighty (n = 80) competitive male cyclists (mean age = 39; SD = 4.1) consented and provided valid responses on a self-reported questionnaire, the PEAS. Mean PEAS scores were compared across the six racing categories via a one-way ANOVA with post-hoc comparisons.
Results: Category 1 racers score significantly higher on the PEAS compared to all other racing categories (p < .001; p < .001; p < .004; p < .001). Category 2 racers differed significantly from the Masters racers only (p < .038). Conclusions: In this current study, it appears that doping perceptions do not differ much within the less skillful racing categories (Cat 3-5, Masters). However, Category 1 and 2 racers both scored highest on the PEAS (35.2 ± 4.9; 31.3 ± 7.4) indicating that a more lenient attitude towards doping exists in the more elite racing categories.
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