A qualitative analysis of motivations for anabolic androgenic steroid use among non-competitive bodybuilders in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Antidoping researches are focused especially on organised sports. The question of doping in gyms is rather specific, resulting in some non-competitive athletes abusing certain drugs. The present quantitative study focuses on evaluating the motivations behind the first and the following anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) abuse, which may however also have an impact on the athletes ceasing to abuse AAS. The respondents under evaluation were 14 non-competitive bodybuilders who have admitted using AAS. They were male from three gyms in the Usti Region in Czech Republic. The study revealed that the major motivations behind the first use of AAS include the need to be admired and/or respected, dissatisfaction with one’s body, impatience in training, curiosity, excitements and other external factors. Such other factors were likewise stated in motivations leading to further use of these substances. They include positive changes in body structure, an increase in selfconfidence, increased interest on the part of other people, but also a temporary decrease in muscle mass, in physical strength, as well as a subjective feeling of a decreasing “firmness of the body”. Possible reasons for a potential discontinuation of AAS use include fear of health risks, of being revealed, and the high financial costs.