Steroids & Drug Use

Experimenting with drugs and alcohol are rights of passage for many kids on college campuses and jocks aren’t immune. While it would seem to make sense that high-level athletes would avoid these behaviors in order to preserve their performance, a recent study published in the Journal of Studies On Alcohol and Drugs proves that isn’t so in every case.

The study, undertaken by Rutgers University’s Center of Alcohol Studies, concludes that college athletes who use performance-enhancing substances are at higher risk of misusing alcohol and recreational drugs compared to athletes who don’t use such drugs, according to BehavioralHealthCentral.com. To arrive at these findings, the study looked at 234 male athletes who admitted to using steroids, stimulants and weight-loss supplements. The New Jersey University discovered that those same athletes were more likely to drink heavily and use marijuana, cocaine and other recreational drugs.

It’s no surprise that some college athletes use performance-enhancing drugs and that they also partake of alcohol or other recreational drugs, but this study is noteworthy because it’s the first of its kind to look at whether college athletes who take performance enhancers are also more likely to misuse other substances. While many athletes steer clear of anything that could hurt their performance on the field, “those who are attracted to using performance-enhancers seem to have a propensity for ‘sensation seeking,’ making them also drawn toward the misuse of other drugs and alcohol,” BehavioralHealthCentral.com reported.

Of the 30 percent of athletes who admitted using performance-enhancing substances, approximately 70 percent reported using marijuana and roughly 30 percent reported using cocaine, according to Jennifer F. Buckman, Ph.D. an assistant research professor at the Center of Alcohol Studies. In contrast, athletes who didn’t use performance-enhancing substances were much less likely to use other drugs. Only 20 percent admitted to using marijuana and three percent said they had used cocaine. Binge drinking and misuse of prescription meds was also higher among athletes who used performance enhancers.

Performance Enhancing Drug Addiction

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