|
 |
 |  |
Study Suggests College Athletes on Performance Enhancers More Likely to Abuse Alcohol & Drugs
The November, 2009, issue of Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs presented a
study on the correlation between performance enhancers and abuse of alcohol and
other drugs in college athletes. Researchers at Rutgers University’s Center of Alcohol
Studies indicated that college athletes on performance enhancing drugs may have
a heightened risk of abusing alcohol or other recreational drugs.(Risk Profile of Male College Athletes Who Use PerformanceEnhancing Substan)
The Rutgers’ study observed that male athletes who used performance enhancers such
as steroids, stimulants, or weight-loss supplements were more likely to admit to
heavy drinking or using marijuana or cocaine. These athletes also showed elevated
rates of alcohol- and drug-related problems such as failing tests, missing classes,
or fighting.
The researchers performed their study on 234 male athletes at one university. They
found that nearly one third of the athletes in the study admitted to using a performance
enhancer in the last year, including steroids, creatine, stimulants, and weight-loss
aids. The performance enhancer group also reported higher rates of drug and alcohol
use. Seventy percent of this group admitted to using marijuana whereas one third
admitted to using cocaine. These values compare much higher than the results for
the non-performance enhancing athletes at twenty-two percent and three percent,
respectively.
These results hint at a variety of reasons for the elevated rates of drug and alcohol
abuse. Potential causes range from desires for new and varied experiences to coping
mechanisms for the stress and anxiety of college athletics and classes. The study’s
authors noted that understanding an athlete’s motivation for substance abuse is
important in addition to awareness and education of athletes on the consequences
of drug and alcohol abuse.
Cerilliant provides numerous DEA-exempt, certified solution standards of a variety
of performance-enhancing drugs and drugs-of-abuse as well as their metabolites and
labeled internal standards. Cerilliant also offers a full line of certified, NIST
traceable ethanol reference standards suitable for a variety of purposes including
blood alcohol testing. Cerilliant’s certified solution standards offer significant
benefits to the laboratory such as increased efficiency, convenience of use with
Snap-N-Shoot® or Snap-N-SpikeTM capability, and retest/expiration dates supported
by real time stability data. Click on the link below to view these featured drug
solutions:
Cerilliant Certified Solutions of Performance Drugs/Sports Testing
Cerilliant Certified Solutions of Cannabinoids
Cerilliant Certified Solutions of Cocaine Analogs
Cerilliant Certified Solutions of Steroids
Cerilliant Certified Solutions of Weight-Loss Drugs
Cerilliant Certified Solutions of Stimulants
Cerilliant Blood Alcohol / Ethanol Certified Drug Solutions
Return to Article List
|
|
|
|