Table 2.
Prevalence, knowledge and attitude of prohibited substance use among Saudi sports players
| Variable | Category | N (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Age (Mean ± SD) | 24.23 ± 0.19 | |
| League | Premier division | (625) 54.7 % |
| Division one | (372) 32.5 % | |
| Division two | (88) 7.7 % | |
| Others | (57) 5 % | |
| Educational level | Illiterate | (2) 0.2 % |
| Elementary | (22) 1.9 % | |
| Intermediate | (156) 13.7 % | |
| Secondary | (624) 54.6 % | |
| University | (338) 29.6 % | |
| Ever used any type of food supplement | Yes | (439) 38.4 % |
| No | (703) 61.6 % | |
| Type of food supplement | Vitamin pills | (302) 62 % |
| Minerals | (45) 9.3 % | |
| Protein powders | (140) 28.7 % | |
| Ever used any type of prohibited substances | Yes | (50) 4.38 % |
| No | (1092) 95.62 % | |
| Advice on prohibited substances | Yes | (750) 65.6 % |
| No | (392) 34.4 % | |
| Source of advice | Club physiotherapist | (244) 32.5 % |
| Fitness trainer | (231) 30.8 % | |
| Media | (87) 11.65 % | |
| Friends | (145) 19.41 % | |
| Other | (43) 5.73 % | |
| Ever tested for prohibited substances | Yes | (406) 35.6 % |
| No | (736) 64.4 % | |
| Times being tested | Once | (223) 54.93 % |
| Twice | (110) 27.09 % | |
| Three times | (73) 17.98 % | |
| Willing to use prohibited substances in the future | Yes | (58) 5.1 % |
| No | (1084) 94.9 % | |
| Know of players using prohibited substances | Yes | (253) 22.2 % |
| No | (889) 77.8 % | |
| Reason for using prohibited substances | Increase self-confidence | (92) 8.1 % |
| Social recognition | (194) 17 % | |
| Protect health | (64) 5.6 % | |
| Improve performance | (792) 69.4 % | |
| Behavior of using prohibited substances | Dishonesty and cheating | (345) 30.2 % |
| Dangerous to health | (419) 36.7 % | |
| Against the spirit of sport | (378) 33.1 % | |
| Supplements help being successful in sports | Agree | (485) 42.5 % |
| Disagree | (657) 57.5 % | |
| Use could violate regulations | Agree | (578) 50.6 % |
| Disagree | (564) 49.4 % | |
| Use constitutes cheating | Agree | (567) 49.6 % |
| Disagree | (575) 50.4 % | |
| Punishment awareness | Yes | (885) 77.5 % |
| No | (257) 22.5 % | |
| Punishment rate | Weak | (123) 13.9 % |
| Fair | (598) 67.6 % | |
| Strong | (164) 18.5 % |