Reaching an appropriate physical activity level (PAL) in adolescence is an important public health problem. This study aimed to evaluate factors associated with PAL and changes in PAL in late ...adolescence.
The sample involved 411 adolescents (201 girls) who were 16 years of age at study baseline; the participants completed a structured validated questionnaire at baseline (the beginning of the third grade of high school) and again at follow-up (the end of the fourth grade; when they were 18 years of age). Variables were obtained at both testing waves and included the following predictors: sociodemographic indices (sex, socioeconomic status, parental education), sports factors (participation in individual and team sports, competitive sports achievement, experience in sports), and PAL (the primary outcome), which was measured using the
.
A significant decrease in PAL between baseline and follow-up testing was evidenced (t-test = 6.17, p < 0.001). A logistic regression model calculated with a dichotomized outcome (normal PAL vs. low PAL), and sex as a covariate, showed a significant influence of participation in team sports and maternal education on PAL, both at baseline (OR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.11-1.87; OR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.02-1.90) and at follow-up (OR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.01-1.90; OR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.08-1.70, for team sports and maternal education, respectively).
The study confirmed certain associations between the studied variables and PAL, but there was no significant influence of the observed indicators on changes in PAL in late adolescence. Further studies evaluating other predictors of changes in PAL are warranted. Med Pr. 2020;71(6):637-47.
Although dietary supplements (DSs) in sports are considered a natural need resulting from athletes' increased physical demands, and although they are often consumed by athletes, data on DS usage in ...Olympic sailing are scarce. The aim of this study was to study the use of and attitudes towards DSs and doping problems in high-level competitive sailing.
The sample consisted of 44 high-level sailing athletes (5 of whom were female; total mean age 24.13 ± 6.67 years) and 34 coaches (1 of whom was female; total mean age 37.01 ± 11.70). An extensive, self-administered questionnaire of substance use was used, and the subjects were asked about sociodemographic data, sport-related factors, DS-related factors (i.e., usage of and knowledge about DSs, sources of information), and doping-related factors. The Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA was used to determine the differences in group characteristics, and Spearman's rank order correlation and a logistic regression analysis were used to define the relationships between the studied variables.
DS usage is relatively high. More than 77% of athletes consume DSs, and 38% do so on a regular basis (daily). The athletes place a high degree of trust in their coaches and/or physicians regarding DSs and doping. The most important reason for not consuming DSs is the opinion that DSs are useless and a lack of knowledge about DSs. The likelihood of doping is low, and one-third of the subjects believe that doping occurs in sailing (no significant differences between athletes and coaches). The logistic regression found crew number (i.e., single vs. double crew) to be the single significant predictor of DS usage, with a higher probability of DS consumption among single crews.
Because of the high consumption of DSs future investigations should focus on real nutritional needs in sailing sport. Also, since athletes reported that their coaches are the primary source of information about nutrition and DSs, further studies are necessary to determine the knowledge about nutrition, DSs and doping problems among athletes and their support teams (i.e., coaches, physicians, and strength and conditioning specialists).
Racket sports are typically not associated with doping. Despite the common characteristics of being non-contact and mostly individual, racket sports differ in their physiological demands, which might ...be reflected in substance use and misuse (SUM). The aim of this study was to investigate SUM among Slovenian Olympic racket sport players in the context of educational, sociodemographic and sport-specific factors.
Elite athletes (N=187; mean age=22±2.3; 64% male) representing one of the three racket sports, table tennis, badminton, and tennis, completed a paper-and-pencil questionnaire on substance use habits. Athletes in this sample had participated in at least one of the two most recent competitions at the highest national level and had no significant difference in competitive achievement or status within their sport.
A significant proportion of athletes (46% for both sexes) reported using nutritional supplements. Between 10% and 24% of the studied males would use doping if the practice would help them achieve better results in competition and if it had no negative health consequences; a further 5% to 10% indicated potential doping behaviour regardless of potential health hazards. Females were generally less oriented toward SUM than their male counterparts with no significant differences between sports, except for badminton players. Substances that have no direct effect on sport performance (if timed carefully to avoid detrimental effects) are more commonly consumed (20% binge drink at least once a week and 18% report using opioids), whereas athletes avoid substances that can impair and threaten athletic achievement by decreasing physical capacities (e.g. cigarettes), violating anti-doping codes or potentially transgressing substance control laws (e.g. opiates and cannabinoids). Regarding doping issues, athletes' trust in their coaches and physicians is low.
SUM in sports spreads beyond doping-prone sports and drugs that enhance athletic performance. Current anti-doping education, focusing exclusively on rules and fair play, creates an increasingly widening gap between sports and the athletes' lives outside of sports. To avoid myopia, anti-doping programmes should adopt a holistic approach to prevent substance use in sports for the sake of the athletes' health as much as for the integrity of sports.
Sport i mediji Rodek, Jelena
Skolski Vjesnik,
06/2018, Letnik:
67, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Cilj ovoga rada bila je analiza kompleksnog odnosa između sporta i medija, posebice tiskanih medija, radio-emisija i televizijskih emisija. Uz povijesnu genezu problema posebna pozornost bila je ...usmjerena na inscenacijske dimenzije medijskog sporta – emocionalizaciju i personalizaciju kao bitne oznake medijske dramaturgije. U zaključnom dijelu pobliže se elaboriralo društveno značenje novostvorenog sustava sport-mediji i naznačene su moguće promjene u odnosu između medija i stvarnosti koje sve više postaju i predmetom istraživanja suvremene sociologije sporta.
Factors associated with doping in sports are frequently studied, but sport specific, gender-stratified investigations are rare. This study aimed to evaluate sociodemographic and sport factors ...associated with doping tendency (DT) in professional handball players. The participants were handball professionals from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (n=173; 22.12±3.11 years of age, 64 females and 109 males) who were tested on sociodemographic variables (gender, age, education), sport factors (experience in sport, achievement at the junior and senior level), and doping factors (personal opinion on the problem of doping, doping knowledge, and personal DT). Logistic regressions with sociodemographic- and sport-factors as predictors were calculated for binarized outcome (positive DT vs. negative DT). A greater likelihood of having a positive DT was found for males than for females (OR=1.60, 95% CI: 1.16-2.12) and for those who achieved success at the junior level (OR=1.21, 95% CI: 1.02- 1.95). Among females, positive DT increased with experience in handball (OR=1.31, 95% CI: 1.11-1.55). Male players who achieved better competitive/sport results at a younger age were more prone to doping (OR=1.50, 95% CI: 1.21-1.83). While a greater tendency toward doping in males might be expected due to sociocultural factors, the gender-specific associations indicated specific factors that must be noted in the development of anti-doping strategies in this sport.
In the present study, we aim to assess the reliability and gender-specific validity of an original questionnaire (Q-LADR) in evaluating the knowledge of legal anti-doping regulations and to examine ...the gender-specific associations between Q-LADR and potential doping behavior (PDB) in senior-level professional athletes. The participants were team-sport players from Croatia and Montenegro (n = 479, 179 females, 21.3 ± 3.3 years of age). Apart from Q-LADR, they were tested in sociodemographic, sport, and doping factors. The results show the proper test–retest reliability of the Q-LADR (Cohen’s kappa = 0.65; average percentage of the equally responded questions: 84%). Men achieved higher scores for the Q-LADR than women (t-test = 9.55, p < 0.001). The Q-LADR score was correlated with age in men, and with number of doping tests and sport success in men and women. Lower Q-LADR scores were correlated with neutral (in women) and positive doping attitudes (in men and women). The results confirm the importance of testing knowledge on the legal issues of anti-doping regulations for athletes, with the possible applicability of findings in the global fight against doping in sport. In order to provide equal opportunities for all to be involved in professional sport, special attention should be paid to vulnerable groups (i.e., women, younger athletes, and those who have not achieved sport success).
Ethnicity and religion are known to be important factors associated with substance use and misuse (SUM). Ethnic Bosniaks, Muslims by religion, are the third largest ethnic group in the territory of ...the former Yugoslavia, but no study has examined SUM patterns among them. The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of SUM and to examine scholastic-, familial- and sport-factors associated with SUM in adolescent Bosniaks from Bosnia-and-Herzegovina. The sample comprised 970 17-to-18-year-old adolescents (48% boys). Testing was performed using an previously validated questionnaire investigating socio-demographic-factors, scholastic-variables, and sport-factors, cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, simultaneous smoking and drinking (multiple SUM), and the consumption of other drugs. The 30% of boys and 32% of girls smoke (OR=1.13; 95% CI=0.86-1.49), 41% of boys and 27% of girls are defined as harmful alcohol drinkers (OR=1.94; 95% CI=1.48-2.54), multiple SUM is prevalent in 17% of boys and 15% of girls (OR=1.11; 95% CI=0.79-1.56), while the consumption of other drugs, including sedatives, is higher in girls (6% and 15% for boys and girls, respectively; OR=2.98; 95% CI=1.89-4.70). Scholastic achievement is negatively associated with SUM. SUM is more prevalent in those girls who report higher income, and boys who report a worse familial financial situation. The study revealed more negative than positive associations between sport participation and SUM, especially among girls. Results can help public health authorities to develop more effective prevention campaign against SUM in adolescence.
Doping is recognized as one of the most important problems in sports, but a limited number of studies have investigated doping problems in youth athletes. This study aimed to evaluate doping tendency ...(potential doping behavior (PDB)) and correlates of PDB in youth age swimmers. The participants were 241 competitive swimmers (131 females; 15.3 ± 1.1 years of age, all under 18 years old). Variables included predictors and PDB (criterion). Predictors consisted of sociodemographic factors (gender and age), sport-related variables (i.e., experience in swimming and sport achievement), variables explaining coaching strategy and training methodology, consumption of dietary supplements (DS), knowledge about doping, and knowledge about sports nutrition and DS (KSN). In addition to the descriptive statistics and differences between genders, a multinomial regression using PDB as the criterion (negative-, neutral-, or positive-PDB, with a negative-PDB as the reference value) was calculated to define associations between predictors and criterion. With only 71% of swimmers who declared negative-PDB results indicated an alarming figure. Boys with better KSN were more negatively oriented toward positive-PDB (OR: 0.77, 95%CI: 0.60-0.95). In girls, lower competitive achievement was evidenced as a risk factor for neutral-PDB (OR: 0.39, 95%CI: 0.24-0.63). Also, higher neutral-PDB (OR: 0.88, 95%CI: 0.81-0.96) and positive-PDB (OR: 0.90, 95%CI: 0.83-0.99) were identified in girls who began with intensive training in younger age. Because of the alarming figures of PDB, there is an evident need for the development of systematic antidoping educational programs in youth swimming. In doing so, focus should be placed on girls who began intensive training at an earlier age and those who did not achieve high competitive results.
: The prevalence of alcohol drinking (AD) in Croatian adolescents is alarming, but there is an evident lack of prospective analyses of the protective/risk factors of AD. This study aimed to ...prospectively investigate the relationships between scholastic and sport factors and harmful alcohol drinking (HD) in older adolescents.
: The participants (n = 644, 53.7% females) were 16 years of age at study baseline and were tested at baseline and again 20 months later (follow-up). The predictors included four variables of scholastic achievement and four factors evidencing involvement in sport. Criterion was AD observed on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and results were later categorized into harmful drinking (HD) and non-harmful drinking (NHD). The HD at baseline, HD at follow-up and HD initiation during the study course were observed as criteria in logistic regression analyses, which were additionally controlled for confounders (age, gender, socioeconomic status, and conflict with parents).
With 22% and 29% adolescents who reported HD at baseline and follow-up, respectively, the prevalence of HD remains among the highest in Europe. Scholastic failure was systematically related to HD at baseline and follow-up, but scholastic variables did not predict HD initiation during the course of the study. The higher odds for HD at baseline were evidenced for current and former team sport athletes. Those who quit individual sport were more likely to engage in HD at follow-up. Longer involvement in sport (OR: 2.10, 95% CI: 1.18⁻3.72), higher sport result (OR: 3.15, 95% CI: 1.19⁻8.34), and quitting individual sport (OR: 13.13, 95% CI: 2.67⁻64.62) were predictive of HD initiation.
: The results indicated specific associations between sport factors with HD initiation, which is understandable knowing the high stress placed on young athletes in this period of life, mainly because of the forthcoming selection between junior (amateur) and senior (professional) level. The results did not allow interpretation of the cause-effect relationship between scholastic failure and HD in the studied period.
This study investigated substance use and misuse among 16 female and 9 male Croatian ballet professionals in 2008 using an original questionnaire. We analyzed social, personal, activity- and ...training-related, and educational factors, and criteria such as: binge alcohol drinking, cigarette smoking, appetite suppressant consumption, analgesic use, and actual and potential "doping" habits. Frequency tables and rank-order correlation were calculated. More than one third of the male dancers reported binge drinking, while 20% of the females smoked more than a box of cigarettes per day. Almost 25% of these dancers will use "doping" if it will ensure successful ballet performance, regardless of negative health consequences. In males, the risk of potential "doping" behavior increased with age. In females, education level was negatively related to cigarette smoking, but positively correlated to potential "doping" habits and behavior. In both genders, religiousness was the factor negatively related to the following: (1) potential "doping" behavior and (2) belief that "doping" exists in professional ballet. Results suggest that there is evident need for more specific medical and/or psychological services in professional ballet. The study's limitations are noted.
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