Dopning och kosttillskott : En kvantitativ studie av idrottsgymnasieelevers bruk och attityder samt könsskillnader

Sammanfattning: Doping has become a more common phenomenon in society. Doping often occur in gyms and the typical user is a young male who somehow has been involved in sports. The use of dietary supplements increases as well, studies in Sweden has shown that 61 percent of the males and 41 percent of the females who exercise at gyms use dietary supplements. The usage of dietary supplements is not entirely risk-free since it has been shown that the supplements may be contaminated with unknown substances and there is no consistent research on the effects of dietary supplements. The aim of this study was to study sports high school students’ use of and attitudes towards doping and dietary supplements, and also study if the usage and attitudes differ between boys and girls. The study is based on a questionnaire performed among students at a sports high school. The results showed that the majority of the students (79,4%) had used dietary supplements at some point, significant gender differences were observed that showed that boys use dietary supplements more frequently than girls. The attitudes towards doping were negative in general and the majority of the students believe that dietary supplements can be damaging (90,1%) at the same time the majority also believe that dietary supplements can have a positive effect (86,3%). The results can be explained by means of Theory of reasoned action, a theory that explains how attitudes can affect behaviors. Due to ethical reasons no results are shown about usage of doping.