The Effect of Educational Intervention on Legal Anti-Doping Knowledge and Doping Tendency in Elite Athletes

Studies have rarely examined the effects of changes in legal anti-doping knowledge (LADK) on doping tendencies in athletes. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured educational intervention focused on LADK and to analyze how LADK changes affect elite athletes' doping tendency. The participants were athletes (n = 310; 156 females; 24.1 ± 4.2 years of age), all actively competing at the senior national or international level in either individual (N = 119) or team sports (N = 191), tested on sociodemographic-, sport-, doping-factors (including doping tendency-DT), and LADK. Participants were randomly divided into an experimental group (E: N = 140) and a control group (C: N = 170). The E group participated in a structured educational program on LADK. A pre- and posttest design was used to evaluate changes in LADK (dependent variable). Logistic regression was calculated to evaluate the association between LADK and binarized DT (negative vs. neutral/positive DT). Factorial ANOVA for repeated measurements revealed significant improvement in LADK in the E group, with significant ANOVA effects for time (F test = 35.8, p < 0.05) and time × group interaction (F test = 12.27, p < 0.05). The logistic regression did not reveal significant correlations between LADK and DT. Further studies exploring younger athletes, as well as long-term, multidimensional interventions, are warranted.