Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Changing the lens through which global anti-doping organisations view the problem of doping in sport.
Doping remains a significant threat to the integrity of sport and the welfare of athletes. Research undertaken at Leeds Beckett since 2005 has drawn upon the psychosocial, contextual and behavioural factors of doping to highlight the complex and dynamic nature of the problem. It has brought into sharp focus the limitations of current detection-deterrence approaches that concentrate on individual athlete culpability, rather than the conditions that encourage and facilitate doping behaviour.
The Approach
Responding to gaps in the evidence base, researchers at LBU are undertaking collaborative multi-stakeholder research that seeks to identify, describe and interpret the social structures and processes that encourage and facilitate doping behaviour. For example, our research has evidenced:
Evidencing athlete doping vulnerability and the need to take-action on the dopogenic environment
LBU research has demonstrated that doping in sport cannot be prevented by solely focussing on the individual athlete. Instead, LBU research underscores the need to address the conditions that promote anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs) – or as we term it the dopogenic environment.
Through in-depth qualitative interviews we have highlighted that parents and coaches send strong signals to their athletes; shaping their (anti)-doping behaviours and approach to sport throughout their athletic career. Indeed, the strength of their influence, combined with their limited knowledge of anti-doping rules and regulations, justifies targeted and tailored anti-doping education for parents and coaches as a foundation for global prevention efforts.
Extending our understanding of athlete vulnerability, LBU provided the first empirical evidence of food supplement use as a potential gateway for doping in sport. Following on from this study, and in partnership with one of sports largest national governing bodies – the Rugby Football Union – LBU researchers went on to address the absence of evidence on the factors that influence players’ decision-making in terms of their diet, training and rugby lifestyles. This unique three-year multi-method programme of research captured the thoughts, feelings and behaviours of over 800 schoolboys, teachers and coaches through a comprehensive survey, in-depth focus groups and interviews. The partnership gave the research team unparalleled access to school age players and coaches to better understand the pressures of the school-rugby environment. The results showed a variety of challenges facing young players, which previously had been unknown or only estimated from anecdotal evidence. Therefore, the research has been critical to evolving understanding of the context of adolescent rugby and the motivations that may drive intentional and inadvertent doping, highlighting the need for more tailored education provisions for young players and coaches.
LBU’s research has directly influenced our approach to supplement education and has raised our awareness about the importance of this area in rugby and have significantly increased our provision of supplement education including the publishing of two new multi-language information films for participants on supplements, and a ‘spot the warning signs’ supplement label test on our new e-learning site.
Evidencing the inherent challenges of reporting on doping in sport
Athletes and support personnel are increasingly encouraged to ‘blow the whistle’ on doping in sport and the introduction of ‘report doping in sport’ hotlines highlight the growing emphasis on intelligence-led approaches to anti-doping. Yet, there is a limited understanding of the experience of reporting doping. LBU’s research contributes important findings regarding an understudied mechanism to protect the integrity of sport and the welfare of athletes.
Beginning in 2014, in-depth qualitative research conducted by LBU researchers with athletes and coaches has provided the only sport-specific empirical evidence to guide global whistleblowing policy and practice to deter and prevent doping in sport.
In 2017 the World Anti-Doping Agency commissioned LBU researchers to conduct a comprehensive programme of research on reporting doping in sport. It highlighted the concern for self, relationships, reputation, and not knowing how to share information as representing significant barriers to reporting doping in sport. One of the research outputs generated was a creative non-fiction story depicting the unique experiences of doping truth tellers, and in collaboration with the Northern Film School we also told the story through film.
Blowing the whistle on doping in short A film by the Northern Film School
These findings prompted action on the part of the global sporting system and its stakeholders. In particular, it demonstrated a need to establish an open culture in sport, where people feel able to speak up and have confidence their concerns will be listed to – and acted upon. Further, the research underscored the need to develop skills to speak up and increase awareness of reporting channels to enable collective action to protect sporting integrity and athlete welfare.
The Impact
Research led by LBU has elicited changes in the education policies, practices and provisions of international anti-doping organisations (e.g., World Anti-Doping Agency, Anti-Doping Norway, Doping Authority Netherlands, UK Anti-Doping Agency), international and national sports federations (e.g., World Rugby, Rugby Football Union) and international organisations (e.g., United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and International Olympic Committee). Collectively, these research impacts benefit thousands of athletes and their support personnel worldwide.
The research conducted by LBU has directly impacted how Sport Ireland deliver anti-doping education. We now focus on enabling clean sport behaviours by equipping athletes with the knowledge, skills and opportunities to compete clean and understand where to go for help and assistance. Sport Ireland now targets athlete support personnel and parents with anti-doping education to ensure that there is consistent messaging and information.
Study for a research degree at Leeds Beckett and you'll join a thriving academic community in an inspiring and supportive environment. The Graduate School supports our increasingly active postgraduate research community and encourages students to make a difference to the university’s research culture and environment.
Leeds Beckett University can conduct research on your behalf to help you to implement change and realise your business potential. Validating your ideas with academic evidence can be an essential part of winning contracts and fuelling business growth.
