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Recreational substance use among elite Australian athletes

journal contribution
posted on 2011-01-01, 00:00 authored by Matthew DunnMatthew Dunn, J Thomas, W Swift, L Burns
Introduction and Aims.The study aimed to investigate the prevalence of illicit drug use among elite Australian athletes with a focus upon cannabis, ecstasy, meth/amphetamine, cocaine, GHB and ketamine; explore perceptions concerning the extent of drug use among this group; ascertain opinions regarding specific drugs of concern; and investigate predictors of recent drug use.
Design and Methods. Data were taken from surveys with 974 elite athletes.
Results. One-third of the sample had been offered or had the opportunity to use illicit drugs in the past year; despite this, the self-reported prevalence of all six drugs under investigation was lower than that reported by the general population. Sixteen per cent of athletes believed that there was a drug of concern in their sport, with ecstasy, cocaine and alcohol being nominated. Knowing other athletes who use illicit drugs, being offered or having the opportunity to use drugs and identifying as a ‘full-time athlete’ were significant predictors of recent drug use.
Discussion and Conclusions. The present study found that one-third of the athlete sample had been offered or had the opportunity to use illicit drugs in the past year; despite this, there was low self-reported drug use. Despite media discussion regarding alcohol use in sport, alcohol was nominated as a drug of concern only by a small proportion of athletes, and further research investigating this issue may be warranted.

History

Journal

Drug and alcohol review

Volume

30

Issue

1

Pagination

63 - 68

Publisher

Wiley - Blackwell Publishing

Location

Oxford, U. K.

ISSN

0959-5236

eISSN

1465-3362

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2010, Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs

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