The Influence Of Substance Use On The Sport Performance Of Amateur Athletes In Ekiti State

Project and Seminar Material Under Sports Science

The Influence Of Substance Use On The Sport Performance Of Amateur Athletes In Ekiti State

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the influence of substance use on the sport performance of amateur athletes in ekiti state. This was a cross-sectional study based on a self- report questionnaire which was carried out among amateur athletes in ekiti state. Systematic random sampling was used to select 345 participants (208 males and 137 females). The data from the study was analysed using frequency measures and chi-square procedure. Findings revealed a fair level of knowledge on the harmful effects and health implications of drug abuse for performance enhancement among study participants. According to the participants’ perception and behavioural attitude, respondents (44.4%) feel that someone should use drugs to boost performance in sports while 55.6% of the respondents do not agree with such attitude. Most respondents (56.0%) perceive most achievement records in sports to be related to drug use. The difference in the attitude towards Substance use between respondents level of education is significant (p<0.05). The respondents admitted that they have used the following prohibited drugs; alcohol (57.2%), ephedrine (11.8%), codeine (8.2%), steroid (5.6%), cocaine (5.6%), insulin (5.0%), marijuana (4.0%), heroin (1.1%), amphetamine (0.7%), cannabis (0.4%) and hygroton (0.4%). Findings also revealed that some of the sports persons also abuse OTC [e.g acetaminophen and NSAIDs] analgesic medicines (1.1%) and non- orthodox-herbal concoctions (1.8%) for performance enhancement. It was therefore concluded that the knowledge, attitude and practice of sports person on drug abuse is unfortunate. Considerably, more research is needed to develop effective prevention strategy that combines education, health and sports based interventions.

Table of Content

  • Title Page
  • Certification
  • Dedication
  • Acknowledgement
  • Table of Content
  • List of Tables
  • Abstract

Chapter One:

Introduction

  • 1.1 Background of the Study
  • 1.2 Statement of the Problem
  • 1.3 Objective of the Study
  • 1.4 Research Questions
  • 1.5 Research Hypothesis
  • 1.6 Significance of the Study
  • 1.7 Scope of the Study
  • 1.8 Limitation of the Study
  • 1.9 Definition of Terms
  • 1.10 Organisations of the Study

Chapter Two:

Review of Literature

  • 2.1 Conceptual Framework
  • 2.2 Theoretical Framework
  • 2.3 Empirical Review

Chapter Three:

Research Methodology

  • 3.1 Research Design
  • 3.2 Population of the Study
  • 3.3 Sample Size Determination
  • 3.4 Sample Size Selection Technique and Procedure
  • 3.5 Research Instrument and Administration
  • 3.6 Method of Data Collection
  • 3.7 Method of Data Analysis
  • 3.8 Validity of the Study
  • 3.9 Reliability of the Study
  • 3.10 Ethical Consideration

Chapter Four:

Data Presentation and Analysis

  • 4.1 Data Presentation
  • 4.2 Analysis of Data
  • 4.3 Answering Research Questions
  • 4.4 Test of Hypotheses
  • 4.5 Discussion of Findings

Chapter Five:

Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation

  • 5.1 Summary
  • 5.2 Conclusion
  • 5.3 Recommendation
  • References
  • APPENDIX
  • QUESTIONNAIRE

Chapter One

Introduction

1.1 Background to the Study

Substance use and abuse is a global phenomenon that follows sporting events worldwide. Most sports men and women use Substances to enhance performance or personal appearance, or to reduce pains as well as for recreational purpose. Many of these Substances pose health risk.

Substances or substance abuse however is not always the outcome related to the use of Substances or medication by sports people. Substances may also be very useful tools in sports medicine. Some medications offset intense pain and also enhance the process of healing. So, Substances may not be the problem as long as they are being used in a legal prescribed manner, under the supervision of trained medical professionals. Substance abuse, inappropriate medication usage and the use of banned substances in the world of competitive sports are the problem.

Some sports events and organizations have banned the use of certain Substances. The term Substance use used in sports refer to the use of illicit or prohibited substances by sports person to unfairly gain advantage over fellow sport person in competition. Such use and abuse of Substances pose a significant risk to the health, safety and well-being of sports people.

Despite the range of health risks and ethical implications, many sports men and women at both professional and amateur level continue to use these Dangerous and prohibited substances, and this has become a subject of public health concern.

Studies have pointed out that person’s use of Substances in sport could be attributed to a complex interaction of personal and environmental factor. Possible contributing environmental factors include attitudes of peer pressure and parents, accessibility to Substances, and cultural norms and value. In addition, according to the theory of planned behavior, a person’s behavior is mainly determined by his/her behavioural intent which, in turn, is influenced by attitude towards the behavior (Orbel & Blair, 2001).

The focus of this study is the abuse of Substances among sports people. This has been a problem in sporting events. The author was trained by the National Substance Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Substance Demand Reduction, and has implemented many intervention programs on Substance abuse prevention for young people which has motivated his interest in this study.

Most of the studies on Substance abuse in sports had been conducted in Europe, America and Asia. Knowing the perception of the Nigerian sports people about Substance abuse would enable government and stakeholders to plan a better primary approach to preventing substance abuse among this group of people. This study therefore investigates the influence of substance use on the sport performance of amateur athletes in Ekiti State.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Substance abuse among athletes is a major issue that gives serious concern to both individuals and the society at large. The use of Substance use substances to enhance performance by athletes is currently a national and international social problem. This is because sports have become a big-time business with national and international champions making millions of money, enjoying self-esteem coupled with recognitions and various rewards such as cash gifts, houses, cars and scholarship awards. Athletes participate in sport competition in order to excel or perform well and win medals. In a situation when athletes feel they could not meet up to the expected standard, they tend to abuse Substance that will aid their performance. Abuse of Substances has cross all lines of race, culture, education and socio-economic status, leaving no group untouched by it devastating effects. It is an enormous public health problem, with far reaching effects in the society (Ajibade, et al 2016).

Rates of performance enhancing Substance use may be higher among elite athletes, where the incentives for optimal performance are quite high. International Substance testing results, collated by World Anti-Substance use Agency (WADA), demonstrate an approximate prevalence of 2% positive tests per year. However, the true prevalence is thought to be closer to 10% during sport competitions. The researcher observed that there are lot of factors that determine the performance of athletes on the track and field events. Some of these determinants may be financial reward, belief that it can enhance performance and lack of facilities to train.

Also, athletes indulge in Substance abuse because of rewards attached to the result of the athlete performance during national and international competitions. Some of the athletes reported effects of Substance abuse include suspensions, bans, early retirement, health problems and premature death. Other self reported are physical, physiological and psychological effects. Although the intention of these athletes who engaged in Substance abuse is mainly to enhance their performances which gradually made some of them to become Substance addicts.

Most behaviours of athletes who abuse Substance include poor attitudes with no other identifiable cause, chronic dishonest, difficulty in paying attention, forgetfulness, sudden oversensitivity, red watery eyes, irregular heartbeat, running nose, inability to sleep, awake at unusual times and unusual laziness. The researcher also observed that prevalence of Substance abuse among athletes cannot be underestimated, especially in weight lifting, athletics and soccer worldwide. The athletes who abused Substance had extra ordinary performance over their opponents who genuinely use their physical efforts and hard work. The athletes who used Substances wanted to win at all cost. The female athletes were not left out in the habit of taking performance-enhancing substances like their male counterparts.

The researchers noted that, there were noticeable increase in unhealthy and anti-social behaviours of athletes who abuse Substance during and after sports competition. Effects of Substance abuse can be linked to the influence of the dangerous acts such as riot during inter-house sports, secondary students wielding dangerous weapons such as cutlass, broken bottles. It is observed that no researcher has carried out any research in this area, hence the need for this study on the influence of substance use on the sport performance of amateur athletes in Ekiti State.

1.3 Objective of the Study

The purpose of the study is to examine the influence of substance use on the sport performance of amateur athletes in Ekiti State. Specifically, the study is to:-

  1. Determine the prevalence of Substance abuse among athletes in National Athletic championship in Nigeria
  2. To assess the level of knowledge of sports men and women on health implications of Substance abuse in sports.
  3. To determine the perception and behavioral attitude of sports people towards Substances for performance enhancement.
  4. To identify the substance and Substances mostly abused by sports people within the environment.
  5. Determine if marijuana will be prevailing of Substance abuse among amateur athletes in Ekiti State.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions were answered in the study;

  1. What is the prevalence of codeine abuse among amateur athletes in Ekiti State?
  2. What is the Prevalence of Marijuana abuse among amateur athletes in Ekiti State?
  3. What is the Prevalence of tramadol abuse among amateur athletes in Ekiti State?
  4. Will financial reward for outstanding performance be a determinant for Substance abuse among amateur athletes in Ekiti State?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

The following research hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance to guide the study;

  • HO1: Codeine will not significantly be a prevalent Substance abused by amateur athletes in Ekiti State.
  • HO2: Marijuana will not significantly be a prevalent Substance abused by amateur athletes in Ekiti State.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The study would be a great benefits to all the coaches, sports Administration, Athletes, Physical and Health Educator, NGOs, State and Federal Governmentas well as academic researchers. The finding would serve as a resource materials to coaches and sports Administrators on the needs to educate the athletes on the danger attached to the Substance abuse in relation to their health. It would also assist them on how to organize and manage sports programmes in the school. It would also exposed the athletes to the risk attach to Substance abuse during and after their retirement which could brings about physical deformity. The study would also encourage the health educator to organized workshop and symposium for all the athletes on the need to stay away from Substance abuse in order not to give negative effect on their health. The findings of this study would enable sport administrators to easily identify atheletes who are into Substance abuse to restrain and refer to medicals and needed treatments. The findings of this study give detailed information to nongovernmental organization on how to provide needed support such as community and grassroots awareness to curb Substances abuse among the youths who are into sports and want to be professionals in future. The findings of this study when publish would enable state and the federal governments enact laws and more stringent on athletes found indulging in Substance abuse be sanctioned and refer for proper medical treatment and rehabilitation to ensure sound healthy living. Finally, the findings would help academic researchers in the area of Substance to carry out more studies on the effect of Substance abuse in sports in the communities.

1.7 Scope of the Study

The study investigated the influence of substance use on the sport performance of amateur athletes in Ekiti State. The study was delimited to all active and retired amateur athletes in Ekiti State. A descriptive research design of survey type was adopted for this study. A multi-stage sampling procedure which consisted of purposive and stratified sampling procedure was used to select the respondents for this study. A researcher designed questionnaire which was subjected to psychometric test was employed for this study .The validity and reliability were ascertained on the content of the research instrument. The researcher administered the questionnaire with the help of three trained research assistants. Percentages was used for demographic data while inferential statistic of chi-square was used to analyze the postulated hypotheses set for the study at 0.05 level of significance using SPSS software version 23.0.

1.8 Limitation of the Study

In the course of carrying out this study, the researcher experienced some constraints, which included time constraints, financial constraints, language barriers, and the attitude of the respondents. However, the researcher were able to manage these just to ensure the success of this study.

1.9 Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined as use in the study:

Abuse:

The misuse of Substances or use of Substance any how without prescription.

Athletes:

Skillful persons that take part in sporting activities.

Athletics:

Sport perform on the track/field by the athletes.

Determinant:

Factors that influence the athletes to use Substance.

Substance Abuse:

Indiscriminate taking of any Substance other than food into the body

Substance:

Any substances taking into the body other than foods to enhance performance.

Effect:

The consequence of taking Substance by the athletes.

Prevalence:

Frequency or occurrence of Substance used by athlete.

Self-reported:

It is the personal account of Substance used by the athlete.

1.10 Organization of the Study

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows.

  • Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study.
  • Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature.
  • Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study.
  • Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.
  • Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.

Chapter Five

Summary, Conclusions and Recommendation

5.1 Conclusion

It was concluded from this study that the knowledge, attitude and practice of the sports men and women towards the use of drugs for performance enhancement is very unfortunate. The trend of Substance use among the sports men and women has not significantly changed from the way it was reported years ago in previous researches. The subjects seem to have fair knowledge of the health risk of the use of drugs for performance enhancement. This was reflected in their practice. Most of them (56.0%) perceived achievement records in sports to be related to drug use may be a factor that has predisposed them to use drugs to gain competitive edge and therefore wrong attitude and beliefs are one of the reasons for drug abuse. The use of alcohol for performance enhancement was (27.6%) in 340 subjects which was significantly high in the study followed by cocaine (25.9%) and Marijuana (13.5%). The subjects (1.1%) also indulge in the abuse of OTC analgesic medicine and some of them (1.8%) have also used non-orthodox-herbal concoctions to improve performance. Since the potential side effects of Substance use drugs are not satisfactory familiar to most users, the education of sports persons on the matter must be a top priority and particular attention should be paid to the younger population, who may suffer the most from the health problems caused by Substance use use. In general, results of this research show that drug abuse or Substance use remains a problem in sports. The researcher believes that extraordinary effects of these drugs, increasing distribution and lack of knowledge of sports team are among reasons to the use of these drugs. Considerably more research is needed to develop effective prevention strategy that combines health, education and sports based interventions.

5.2 Recommendation

On the basis of this analysis, the author recommends the following interventions which should be applied to prevent the abuse of drugs for performance enhancement and promote good quality health of sports persons;

  1. Anti-Substance use education and training programme should be continuous and mandatory for the sporting community in general. The training should aim to provide updated and accurate information on; the harm of Substance use to ethical value of sports, the health consequences of Substance use, and also focus on developing core life skills (e.g communication, decision-making, refusal skills). Education and training programmes should also be targeted at adolescents and young people when their attitude and values are being formed.
  2. Educational prevention programmes should be delivered by well trained individuals who will demonstrably deliver the program with high fidelity.
  3. Education and information should not only be provided to sports persons but all of the society (parents, educators, officials, the general public, etc). To this end, it is necessary to inform sports persons, officials and the public about the nature of the problem, the right and obligations of actors concerned. This could be done through mentoring programmes, educational workshops, radio, television, internet and print media.
  4. Research such as this project could be an educational tool; e.g when researchers engage sports persons in completing surveys or interviews, they are in fact raising awareness and, in some cases, such as focus groups will encourage sports persons to think about Substance use and anti- Substance use and thereby connect theory with practice.
  5. The federal government should facilitate and encourage relevant competent professional associations and institutions to develop and implement appropriate codes of conducts, good practice and ethics related to anti- Substance use in sport that is consistent.
  6. The federal government through the national sports commission and other sports authorities should set up effective multidisciplinary network to curb the practice of Substance use in sports.
  7. The government and private sectors should not only focus on promoting and funding sporting competitions but should also promote and fund anti-Substance use research.

In conclusion, the author suggests that this proposal be included in terms of reference of any future administration. By implementing such measures, Nigeria and other nations would be able to deal with Substance use problem.

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