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Description
Several studies have investigated coaches’ and other sports staff’s role concerning attitudes and understanding of performance-enhancing substances, including doping, in elite athletes’ lives. Most of these studies use a quantitative approach. Few studies have done this from a qualitative perspective, and none focussing exclusively on youth athletes. Youth athletes are particularly interesting as they are developing an athletic identity and are vulnerable to pressure and persuasion from influential individuals and institutions. This paper has two main aims. Firstly, to identify individuals and institutions that impact young athletes’ experiences, opinions and knowledge concerning performance-enhancing substances. Secondly, understand how the athletes interpret and construct meaning based on this impact. The present study draws on interviews with youth athletes from specialised sports schools in Norway. Our findings show that several people and institutions are significant, including coaches, the school, other athletes, and Antidoping Norway. The athletes spend most of their time with fellow athletes and describe strong ties between them. However, the relationship between athletes from one sport towards athletes from other sports takes a different form. It bears the mark of a need to distinguish themselves, which has consequences for their beliefs regarding the others’ attitudes to and use of performance-enhancing substances. Also, our analysis finds the school to have a strong influence on athletes’ knowledge and opinions. Furthermore, athletes constantly balance other people’s influence with their own independence, as they view independence and responsibility for their own performance as essential for their chances of success as elite athletes.
