Attitude towards doping in Spanish Sport Sciences university students according to the type of sport practised: Individual versus team sports

Introduction. -The aim of this study was to understand the attitude towards performance-enhancing drugs (PED) in Spanish Sport Sciences university students and whether it varied according to the type of sport practised (individual, team, or both). Synopsis of the facts. -Descriptive design was carried out by means of a validated measurement instrument to assess attitudes towards doping (Performance Enhancement Attitudes Scale [PEAS]) using a Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree) for different statements that support the use of doping in sport. In general, overall score (17-102) and mean score (1-6) of all the items was respectively 34.69 +/- 9.31; 2.04 +/- 0.55 (2 = disagree), Taking into account the type of sport practised, just for one item ("athletes have no alternative career choices, but sport") significant differences were observed between individual sports (IS: 2.48) and the other groups team sports (TS: 2.07) and both types of sport (BS: 2.00), P=0.015. Conclusions. -Spanish Sport Sciences university students in general disagree with the use of performance enhancing drugs in competitive sport. For subjects who are not professionally involved in any sports, there are no differences in attitudes towards doping in relation to the type of sport practised (individual, team, or both). (C) 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.