Moral Identity Predicts Attitudes Towards Doping via Perception of Fair Play

Background: The evidence suggests that athletes’ attitudes toward banned substances are one of the strongest predictors of intention to use or indulge in the actual practice of doping. Previous research has found that personal morality was negatively related with doping attitudes. However, less is known about the role of perception of fair play on attitudes towards doping. It is important to note that not only modern testing tools and financial resources are important in the fight against doping, but also public support. Although most adults are against doping in sport, some findings demonstrate that students become more tolerant or less supportive of the internationally promoted zero tolerance policy.

Aims: The first aim of this study was to examine whether moral identity is associated with athlete’s attitudes toward doping, and whether perception of fair play mediates this relationship. The second aim was to determine whether these associations differ among non-athletes.

Methods: Participants in this study were 365 university students (49.9% male; 55.3% athletes; age from 18 to 28 years) recruited from universities in Lithuania. They completed a questionnaire measuring moral identity, attitudes towards doping in sport, and perception of fair play. Mediation analyses were performed using the PROCESS 2.16 (Hayes, 2013) separately with athlete and non-athlete students.

Results: The results showed that athletes compared to non-athletes had significantly more positive attitudes towards doping (t(263) = -2.31, p .05), but less positive perception of fair play (t(363) = 2.70, p .001). Analysis showed that perception of fair play was also significantly related to attitudes towards doping (β = -.51, p.001). Moral identity had significant direct (β = -.14, p.001) and indirect effects (β = -.10, p.05) on athletes’ attitudes toward doping. Perception of fair play was a significant predictor of non-athlete students` attitudes towards doping (β = -.49, p.001). It was found that moral identity indirectly via perception of fair play predicts non-athletes’ attitudes toward doping (β = -.08, p.05).

Discussion: The study provides insight into how a person`s morality and perception of moral values in sport may act as factors related to doping in sport. The study revealed that both the athlete`s moral identity and how he/she perceived fair play are important factors in forming attitudes towards doping. We found that moral identity was not directly associated with non-athletes’ attitudes towards doping. However, perception of fair play mediated the relationship between moral identity and doping attitudes, suggesting that if people with a stronger moral identity are also more likely to endorse fair play, and they would demonstrate more negative attitudes towards doping.

Conclusion: Our study suggests that the perception of fair play mediated the relationship between moral identity and attitudes towards doping.