Attitudes towards, knowledge of, and prevalence of illicit drug use among elite athletes

NDARC Staff

Matthew Dunn, Johanna Thomas, Wendy Swift, Lucy Burns and Richard Mattick

Aims

The aim of the this study is to investigate a range of substance use issues among a sample of elite athletes in Australia. The study will involve:

• assessing knowledge about illicit drugs among this group
• assessing lifetime and past-year substance use
• examining the sources of information which athletes use to inform their knowledge of illicit drugs
• exploring attitudes towards illicit drug policies
• identifying the need for resources, education programs and policy approaches

  Design and Method

  
  

This study will consist of two components. Firstly, a cross-sectional sample of 700 elite athletes from a range of national sporting organisations. For this component, participants will self-complete a structured interview schedule. The second component will involve interviews with key experts who, through the nature of their employment (such as trainers, coaches, and other personnel from sports institutions/organisations), are in regular contact will athletes. Key experts will be interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule.