NCJ Number
208377
Journal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 16 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2001 Pages: 808-832
Editor(s)
Jon R. Conte
Date Published
August 2001
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This study examined the relationship between doping agents and the involvement in violence and experience of violent victimization in a sample of adolescents from Norway.
Abstract
In many countries, there is an increasing concern for violence associated with the use of doping agents, specifically anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), as well as becoming the victim of violent victimization. This study investigated the association between doping agents on the one hand and violent behaviors and violent victimization on the other hand. The study addressed several issues: (1) are adolescents in milieus in which doping agents are presently involved in violent behaviors more often than adolescents in milieus in which doping agents are not used; (2) are adolescents in these milieus more at risk for becoming victims of violent victimization than other adolescents; and (3) are there additional effects in this respect from the actual use of doping agents in regards to violent behaviors and risk of violent victimization. Adolescents were recruited from the 8th, 9th, and 10th grades in the school system, and all public and private schools in Oslo, Norway. The sample consisted of 10,828 male and female adolescents. The study revealed that 11.5 percent of the adolescents had been offered doping agents without using them, whereas 1.8 percent had used doping agents at some time during their life. The study indicated that adolescents in milieus in which doping agents were present often reported violent behaviors. This association remained significant even when other variables were controlled for. The study indicated that doping agents, most often AAS, were found among adolescents characterized by high levels of violence. References