NCJ Number
189524
Journal
Journal of Drug Issues Volume: 31 Issue: 2 Dated: Spring 2001 Pages: 517-542
Date Published
2001
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This article investigates the use of doping agents, in particular anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), among Norwegian adolescents, with special emphasis on the association between doping agent use and use of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs.
Abstract
The sample consisted of all 14- to 17-year-olds in the public and private school system in Oslo. The response rate was 94.3 percent. Two and three-tenths percent of the boys and 1.3 percent of the girls reported a lifetime ever use of doping agents. Use of doping agents did not vary according to sociodemographic variables, living area in the city, or ethnic background. Multivariate analyses showed that there was an association between doping agent use and factors (parental alcohol exposure and poor monitoring). Doping agent users often used commercial gymnasiums; they reported use of smokeless tobacco; and admitted to high levels of alcohol problems. The associations between doping agent use and use of amphetamines, MDMA (ecstasy), and heroin were particularly strong. The association between doping agent use and use of cannabis only was negative. In particular, the link to the use of heroin should be noted, as this may imply needle sharing and the spread of hepatitis and HIV. These findings indicate that use of doping agents has spread to the normal population of adolescents. There is still an association between doping agent use and sports training, in particular self-defense sports and use of commercial gyms. However, the association to a general deviant lifestyle and the use of legal and illegal drugs is more striking. In addition to preventive work targeted at participants in elite sports, interventions should be aimed at adolescents in a broader risk zone. 3 tables, 1 note, and 77 references.