Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2002

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences

Department

Physical Education Teacher Education

Committee Chair

Andrew C. Ostrow.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine college athletes' perceptions regarding illegal drugs in sport related to sport (team/individual), gender, and socioeconomic status. It was hypothesized that male, team sport, and higher socioeconomic athletes would view drug use in sport as more appropriate. A demographic data sheet and King Drug Doping in Sport Questionnaire (KDSQ) (King, 1991) was administered to 93 athletes in CHAMPS/Life Skills classes at an Eastern Division I institution. To scale reliability and construct validity, Cronbach's alpha coefficients were obtained and a principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation was run. Findings revealed weak Cronbach alpha coefficients, and discrepancies related to factor loading. Two 2 x 2 MANOVAs (gender/sport and socioeconomic status/sport) were computed. Findings revealed no statistically significant differences in perceptions in relation to sport, gender, and socioeconomic status. The findings are discussed in relation to the existent literature on the perceptions of drug use in sport.

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