Susan Backhouse

Leeds Beckett University | LEEDS MET · Carnegie School of Sport

Revisions to global anti-doping policy and growing evidence of systematic doping in sport means athletes and athlete support personnel are increasingly encouraged to ‘blow the whistle’ on doping. Yet, individuals' thoughts, feelings, and anticipated behaviours in reporting wrongdoing of this kind are unknown, hindering its promotion. To inform curr...

To inform anti-doping policy and practice, it is important to understand the complexities of doping. The purpose of this study was to collate and systematically examine the reasoned decisions published by UK Anti-Doping for doping sanctions in rugby union in the UK since the introduction of the 2009 World Anti-Doping Code. Case files were content a...

Protecting clean sport, and the rights of athletes to a clean sport environment, is at the centre of anti-doping policies. To better support and enable clean athletes and sport, an understanding of the clean athlete lifeworld is required. The current study explored the ways that clean athletes are personally affected by others’ actual or suspected...

Illness prevention is essential for athlete health management, but little is known about its uptake in sport. Prior to the pandemic, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) published a consensus statement recommending illness prevention guidelines are implemented in sports. Yet, little is known about guideline uptake. Therefore, this study aimed...

Global anti-doping policy indicates that athlete support personnel (ASP, e.g. doctors, nutritionists) can play an important role in fostering supportive environments that protect against intentional and inadvertent doping. Yet, research into ASP anti-doping roles is limited and no study has examined how (if at all) different members of ASP work tog...

Background: Although a precise percentage of athletes doping has remained elusive, evidence to date suggest that the majority of athletes are ‘clean’. Protecting clean sport, and the rights of athletes to a clean sport environment, is at the centre of anti-doping policies. To better support and enable clean athletes and sport, an understanding of t...

Objectives This study aimed to address voids in academic literature by exploring the consequences of performance expectations from the perspective of a retired athlete. Methodology An instrumental case study was used to capture the experiences of a retired female athlete who had been exposed to performance expectations throughout her career. Six c...

Background In sport the narrative is changing from anti-doping to pro-clean sport. Yet, our understanding of what ‘clean sport’ means to athletes is notably absent from the literature. Objectives Working together with elite athletes and National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADOs), this study explored the meaning and importance of ‘clean sport’ and...

Background Doping in sport is a significant issue. To date, research informing doping prevention has lacked a framework guiding research priorities. To ensure research is coordinated, sustainable and focused on end-user priorities, this study co-created the first research agenda for doping prevention. Methods The Delphi method was used to develop...

Objectives: The purpose of this qualitative study was to utilize the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation - Behavior model (COM-B) to: (1) evaluate athlete knowledge and understanding of current asthma-related anti-doping regulations, (2) explore the impact of environmental and societal influences on athletes with asthma, and (3) examine athlete pe...

To protect the integrity of sport and the health of athletes, global anti-doping programmes seek to prevent doping behaviours and elicit clean sport behaviours through education, deterrence, detection, enforcement and rules. To guide programme development, this meta-synthesis of qualitative research applied a behavioural science framework to identi...

Background: Doping is a significant issue in sport. To date, research efforts to inform doping prevention have lacked any guiding framework for research priorities. To ensure future research endeavors are coordinated, sustainable and focused on end-user priorities, a research agenda, informed by practical needs and expert knowledge, is needed. For...

In this study, we give voice to athletes and explore what ‘clean’ means for them in elite sport. Working together with elite athletes and National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADOs) in five European countries, we investigated the meaning and importance of ‘clean sport’ and ‘clean athlete identity’ from the athletes’ perspectives. With athletes as co...

Objectives Full-contact football-code team sports offer a unique environment for illness risk. During training and match-play, players are exposed to high-intensity collisions which may result in skin-on-skin abrasions and transfer of bodily fluids. Understanding the incidence of all illnesses and infections and what impact they cause to time-loss...

Athletes, sponsors and sport organisations all have a vested interest in upholding the values of clean sport. Despite the considerable and concerted efforts of the global anti-doping system over two decades, the present system is imperfect. Capitalising upon consequent frustrations of athletes, event organisers and sponsors, alternative anti-doping...

To prevent the spread of infection during matches and training activities is a major challenge facing all sports returning from the enforced COVID-19 shutdown. During training and matches, rugby league players make contact with others which can result in SARS-CoV-2 virus transmission. While these interactions characterise the appeal of the game, a...

Objectives Poor adherence to nutritional guidance by athletes may compromise their health and performance. Enhancing adherence is therefore an important performance and welfare strategy. The aim of this study was to qualitatively explore the barriers and enablers of elite athletes' adherence to nutritional guidelines. Design Underpinned by our con...

Objectives: Coach-centred antidoping education is scarce. We tested the efficacy of a motivationally informed antidoping intervention for coaches, with their athletes' willingness to dope as the primary outcome. Methods: We delivered a cluster randomised controlled trial in Australia, the UK and Greece. This study was a parallel group, two-condi...

Although research investigating doping in sport is burgeoning, there is still a lack of proxy measures of doping behaviour that have undergone extensive psychometric testing. To address this issue, we modified a previously used measure of doping willingness in sport and tested aspects of validity and reliability across four studies. In Study 1, we...

Objectives Doping threatens the integrity of sport and the health and wellbeing of athletes. Operating as both a risk and protective agent, coaches may influence athletes’ (anti-)doping thoughts, feelings and behaviours. The objective of this study was to systematically review empirical coach anti-doping literature over a 20-year period between Wor...

In this paper we argue that whilst protecting clean sport is critically important to all stakeholders, alternative anti-doping protocols that put athletes in disadvantageous positions and/or pose risks to their professional and personal lives lack legitimation. We discuss the issues arising from naïve and inexpert use of anti-doping data and scient...

Objectives The purpose of this study was to make an original contribution to sport psychology literature by offering a substantive grounded theory of dyadic coping in coach-athlete relationships. Specifically, this study aimed to capture the development and manifestation of dyadic coping for coaches and athletes operating in individual sports. Des...

Moral identity and moral disengagement have been linked with doping likelihood. However, experiments testing the temporal direction of these relationships are absent. The authors conducted one cross-sectional and two experimental studies investigating the conjunctive effects of moral identity and moral disengagement on doping likelihood (or intenti...

Objectives Despite a growing body of literature examining the social psychology of doping in sport, stressors and coping as potential doping risk and or protective factors have received scant attention. The aim of this study was to explore permitted and prohibited substances when coping with stressors among a sample of rugby players. Design Underp...

Designing and implementing successful dietary interventions is integral to the role of sports nutrition professionals. Despite this, no review has evaluated sports nutrition interventions and consequently their active ingredients are not defined. This systematic review aimed to identify the behavioural strategies used in sports nutrition interventi...

Objectives Substance use among university student-athlete populations is a growing concern but research addressing this issue is primarily confined to the US. Also, the exposure of witnessing other student-athletes using substances and how student-athletes may respond when witnessing other athletes taking substances across countries and gender is u...

Summary: The World Anti-Doping Code states that athlete support personnel, including parents, have a responsibility to protect and promote clean sport. However, current anti-doping resources available to parents appear limited. Parents of academy-level UK athletes expressed motivations to perform anti-doping roles and responsibilities, yet lacked t...

Background: Respiratory symptoms are considered to provide limited diagnostic value in the assessment of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) (Price et al. Resp Med 2016; 120, 36-43). Aim: To evaluate perceived dyspnoea in athletes applying machine learning methods. Method: Cross-sectional evaluation of athletes (n = 65; male: n = 39) reporti...

Background: Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) is a common cause of breathing difficulty in athletes. Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is an indirect marker of airway inflammation, recommended for the assessment and management of asthma; however, the role of FeNO in detecting and monitoring EIB has yet to be fully established. The aim...

Background: The most appropriate objective bronchoprovocation challenge in the evaluation of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) remains debated. Standardising minute ventilation and environmental conditions during an exercise challenge test (EX) is challenging, whereas it has recently been proposed that eucapnic voluntary hyperpnoea (EVH) m...

Athlete adherence to nutritional guidance is critical for optimal health and performance, yet little is known about the barriers and enablers to athletes’ dietary behaviours within high-performance sport. To advance understanding, we applied a theoretical lens derived from the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation – Behaviour (COM-B) model and the Th...

Asthma is prevalent in athletes and when untreated can impact both respiratory health and sports performance. Pharmacological inhaler therapy currently forms the mainstay of treatment; however, for elite athletes competing under the constraints of the World Anti-Doping Code (Code), a number of established therapies are prohibited both in and/or out...

Research has identified psychological skills and characteristics (PSCs) perceived to facilitate talented youth athletes’ development. However, no systematic categorisation or synthesis of these PSCs exists to date. To provide such synthesis, this systematic review aims to: (i) identify PSCs perceived as facilitative of talented youth athletes’ deve...

Informed by athletes’ psychological needs, the current qualitative study developed, implemented, and evaluated a 15-month mental skills training (MST) program for elite youth athletes. The MST was divided into three phases that included a nine-month pre-intervention, a two-month intervention, and a four-month evaluation phase. The intervention cons...

Whistleblowing is effective for exposing doping in sport, garnering increased support and promotion within the global anti-doping community. However, limited attention has been afforded towards understanding the doping whistleblowing process. In response, the authors convey a sense of the whistleblowing context by using the actual words of whistleb...

Aim: Evaluating respiratory symptoms in athletic individuals can be difficult and therefore robust clinical assessment tools are required (1). The Allergy Questionnaire for Athletes (AQUA) is validated to assess allergic +/- respiratory symptoms (2). The purpose of this study was therefore to determine the value of AQUA as a screening tool to confi...

Aim: Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is an indirect marker of airway inflammation, recommended for the assessment and management of asthma (1). The role of FeNO in detecting exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) and monitoring respiratory health in athletes has however yet to be established. The aim of this pilot study was therefore to...

Objectives: Under the World Anti-Doping Code coaches have designated anti-doping roles and responsibilities. Yet, their experiences, opinions and behaviours in relation to these expectations are poorly understood. This study responds directly to this absence of evidence in order to move the field forward. Design: A qualitative thematic analysis app...

This study investigated whether motivational climate was associated with prosocial and antisocial behavior in youth athletes directly and indirectly via social support (i.e., emotional and esteem support), perspective taking, and moral disengagement. A total of 275 youth team sport players (156 boys and 119 girls) aged 11 to 16 years completed ques...

Field-based anti-doping interventions in sport are scarce and focus on athletes. However, coaches are recognized as one of the most significant source of influence in terms of athletes’ cognitions, affect, and behavior. In this paper, we present the protocol for a cluster randomized control trial which aims to contrast the relative effects of a ‘mo...

The purpose of this study was to understand how performance expectations conveyed within print and digital media manifest and how these expectations are reported at specific time points (i.e., before, during, and after a major sporting event). A total of 9,236 media reports were analysed using inductive content analysis, each of which made referenc...

Behaviour is shaped by the interactions between a person, their social sphere and their environment. Yet research into doping in sport has largely focused on the athlete and the individual factors that influence prohibited substance use. Owing to the stigma associated with doping, it can be difficult to undertake research with those who have commit...

Background and objectives: Theories of dyadic coping and empirical literature have intermittently and inconsistently highlighted antecedents and outcomes of dyadic coping. The purpose of this review was to systematically identify the antecedents and outcomes of dyadic coping in close personal relationships. Design: A PRISMA-guided systematic review...

The use of performance enhancing drugs, also known as doping, can represent a serious threat to an athlete's psychological and physical health and contravenes the spirit of sport. Scholars identified attitudes towards doping as a crucial factor that indirectly influences doping behaviors. Further, prominent theoretical frameworks that are designed...

The role of dispositional mindfulness on stress in student-athletes and factors that mediate this relationship has yet to be examined. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between the facets of mindfulness and life stress in student-athletes and whether these relationships are mediated through coping effective...

Athletes exist and function in an environment of complex relationships; however, little is known about the influence of specific relationships for athletes’ attitudes, experiences and behaviors toward doping in sport. Among adolescent and young adult athlete populations, parents and coaches have been highlighted as particularly influential, but whe...

Inconsistencies in the use and definition of psychological terms within the talent development literature have been identified. To advance the scientific field, the creation of a shared language is recommended. This review aimed to systematically (1) identify terms used in empirical studies to describe psychological components purported to facilita...

Objectives: To examine athletes' implicit and explicit prototype perceptions of performance enhancing substance (PES) users and non-users. Design: A cross-sectional mixed-method study. Methods: Competitive athletes from 39 sports (N = 226; mean age = 27.66 ± 9.74 years; 59% male) completed four self-report questions and two Brief Implicit Associati...

Within anti-doping efforts, an emphasis has been placed on the importance of providing education programmes to key stakeholder groups, including coaches. Yet, very little is known about current coach education provision in the anti-doping domain across countries and sports. Therefore, this study aimed to: (1) establish the current status of anti-do...

Despite research highlighting mindfulness as a potential protective factor against stress, no research has investigated its efficacy for life-stress management in student-athletes. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the five facets of dispositional mindfulness influence stress in student-athletes, and whether this is mediated by c...

Despite research highlighting mindfulness as a potential protective factor against stress, no research has investigated its efficacy for life-stress management in student-athletes. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the five facets of dispositional mindfulness influence stress in student-athletes, and whether this is mediated by c...

Rugby Union is currently under the spotlight with 18 individuals from the UK currently banned from the sport for committing an anti-doping rule violation(s). Notably, the vast majority of these cases arise from the amateur and/or schoolboy game.1 Beyond the UK, 12 of 52 South African schoolboy rugby players recently returned positive tests for usin...

One of the fundamental challenges in anti-doping is identifying athletes who use, or are at risk of using, prohibited performance enhancing substances. The growing trend to employ a forensic approach to doping control aims to integrate information from social sciences (e.g., psychology of doping) into organised intelligence to protect clean sport....

To examine the effects of consuming a galactose carbohydrate (CHO) drink on substrate oxidation, postexercise satiety, and subsequent energy intake. Nine recreationally active eumenorrheic females undertook 3 trials, each consisting of running for 60 minutes at 65% VO2peak followed immediately by a 90-minute rest period. Prior to (300 ml) and at 15...

We would like to thank Dr. Arandjelovic [1] for taking the time to read our meta-analysis [2], which statistically synthesized the personal and psychosocial predictors of doping use in sport and other physical activity settings. Unfortunately, his remarks reveal a misunderstanding regarding the scope of our paper. In essence, Dr. Arandjelovic charg...

Despite the Internet and the WorldWideWeb providing ready access to information on the risks and health consequences of anabolic steroid (AS) misuse for all ages, AS use remains a public health concern. The aim of this narrative review is to examine the ability of negative health consequences information (NHCI) to prevent adolescent AS misuse in th...

Background: There is a growing body of empirical evidence on demographic and psychosocial predictors of doping intentions and behaviors utilizing a variety of variables and conceptual models. However, to date there has been no attempt to quantitatively synthesize the available evidence and identify the strongest predictors of doping. Objectives:...

Athlete support personnel (ASP) implement drug control policies for sport, such as anti-doping. Interviews with 39 ASP reveal how differences between policy and practice play out in their “lived experience” of anti-doping. While most ASP support the ideology underlying anti-doping at a “common sense” level (using popular drug and sporting discourse...

Revisions to global anti-doping policy and growing evidence of systematic doping in sport means athletes and athlete support personnel are increasingly encouraged to ‘blow the whistle’ on doping. Yet, individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and anticipated behaviours in reporting wrongdoing of this kind are unknown, hindering its promotion. To inform curr...