Determinants of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Risk Perceptions in Youth Populations: A Multivariate Analysis

Grounded conceptually in social cognitive theory, this research examines how personal, behavioral, and environmental factors are associated with risk perceptions of anabolic-androgenic steroids. Ordinal logistic regression and logit log-linear models applied to data gathered from high-school seniors (N = 2,160) in the 2005 Monitoring the Future study showed significant explanatory effects for sex, race, exposure to drug spots, steroid availability, peer use of steroids, sensation-seeking, depression, and self-esteem. Females, African Americans, and those who had seen drug spots the most frequently estimated higher levels of risk associated with steroid use, while those who indicated ease in obtaining steroids and those with close friends who had used the drugs estimated lower risk. Also estimating lower levels of risk were sensation seekers, those who appeared depressed, and those with low levels of self-esteem. Analyses reveal how steroid risk determinants may differ from those related to methylenedioxymethamphetamine (i.e., MDMA, ecstasy) and marijuana use.