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Arnaldo Zelli is a full professor of Psychology in the Dept. of Education Sciences in Sport and Physical
Activity, University of Rome “Foro Italico.” Fabio Lucidi and Luca Mallia are with the Department
of Psychology at the University of Rome-Sapienza.
Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 2010, 4, 39-52
© 2010 Human Kinetics, Inc.
The Relationships Among Adolescents’
Drive for Muscularity, Drive for Thinness,
Doping Attitudes, and Doping Intentions
Arnaldo Zelli
University of Rome-Foro Italico
Fabio Lucidi and Luca Mallia
University of Rome-Sapienza
This study examined the relative ways in which muscularity and thinness concerns
longitudinally infuence adolescents’ intentions to use doping substances. It was
hypothesized that muscularity and thinness exert their effects on doping inten-
tions by promoting endorsement of positive attitudes toward doping use in male
and female adolescents and across different levels of sport involvement. To test
this hypothesis, nearly 900 high school adolescents provided questionnaire data
on two separate occasions during an academic year. On average, boys, as well
as boys and girls who practice some sport, had relatively strong concerns about
muscularity, whereas girls showed relatively strong thinness concerns. Boys also
expressed more positive attitudes about doping than did girls. Structural equation
modeling showed that muscularity and thinness have direct effects on adolescents’
intentions to engage in doping and that muscularity, but not thinness, partly exerts
its effects through the endorsement of positive attitudes toward doping.
Keywords: body image, muscularity, slimness
In the popular media, doping use is typically viewed as a phenomenon that
involves professional athletes and that represents the primary illicit means to
enhance sport performance. This public view is in sharp contrast with the ways
doping use has been investigated and conceptualized in the scientifc psychologi-
cal literature. First, research has demonstrated that doping use goes well beyond
the realm of elite or professional sports. It is also found, albeit in relatively low
percentages, among middle school and high school boys and girls who practice
sports on an amateur level, with little variation in doping use across geographic
regions, socioeconomic stata, and educational levels (Yesalis & Bahrke, 2000).
Second, even though athletic performance enhancement represents a key goal of
doping users, many athletes use doping to improve their physical appearance and