The Relationship Of Doping With Aggression, Anxiety And Depression In Champion Athletes Of Kermanshah

Background: In today's world of professional sports in which victory and championship are the starting point and endpoint; unfortunately, doping has become an integral part of sport. This malevolent phenomenon not only threatens athletes’ body, but also negatively influences their spirits. The present study is an attempt to investigate the relationship of doping with aggression, anxiety, and depression in champion athletes of Kermanshah. Method: With regard to the applied nature of this study, a descriptive method along with a correlation approach was employed for the study. All the champion athletes of Kermanshah constituted the statistical population of the study, among whom the number of 195 people was selected as the participants through random sampling. The respondents completed Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, Spielberger Anxiety Inventory, and a researcher-made questionnaire. The data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed in SPSS software using descriptive indexes and Pearson correlation test. Results: The results showed that there is no significant relationship between the use of banned athletic performance-enhancing drugs by athletic competitors and depression, but there is a significant relationship of doping with anxiety and aggression in physical, verbal and anger elements. Conclusion: Since the harmful effects of performance-enhancing drugs influence the mental and behavioral states of sports champions and threaten the whole society, the attention and efforts of the authorities and the society to this issue are necessary and important.