Does social desirability influence the relationship between doping attitudes and doping susceptibility in athletes?

Daniel F. Gucciardi*, Geoffrey Jalleh, Robert J. Donovan

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

102 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objectives: Given the sensitive nature of performance-enhancing drug use or doping in sport, obtaining reliable information on attitudes to doping may be severely compromised by socially desirable responding. Methods: The influence of social desirability on the relationship between attitudes to doping and doping susceptibility was examined in 224 Australian athletes. Participants completed a questionnaire package containing items tapping the three constructs of interest. Data analyses focused on mediation and moderation effects using structural equation modelling and hierarchical regression analysis respectively. Results: Structural equation modelling analyses showed social desirability to partially mediate the association between doping attitudes and doping susceptibility, whereas regression analyses revealed strong support for the presence of a moderation effect of social desirability. Conclusions: As a limitation of self-reported data, these findings highlight the importance of controlling for social desirability when obtaining athletes' self-reported attitudes towards doping and their susceptibility for engaging in doping in sport.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)479-486
Number of pages8
JournalPsychology of Sport and Exercise
Volume11
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2010
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Mediation
  • Moderation
  • Performance-enhancing drugs
  • Sport
  • Structural equation modelling

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