Getting Huge,Getting Ripped: A Qualitative Exploration of Recreational Steroid Use

Abstract

Steroid use is only now being recognized as a national epidemic. Although American athletes have been using anabolic steroids since the 1950s, it was not until the 1980s that athletic governing bodies began to monitor and sanction illegal supplementation. It is easier to understand why paid, professional athletes might partake in steroid use; keeping up with the competition, sustaining or improving abilities, salary incentives and endorsements based on performance are but a few reasons. But it is more difficult to understand why adult nonprofessional athletes would eagerly flout the law and put their health at risk. Academic research into steroid use has largely ignored this populous group, instead focusing on professional, college or high school/adolescent athletes. Through semi-structured interviews with 37 recreational steroid users, this paper seeks to fill that void by exploring their motivations, knowledge, and attitudes toward illegal anabolic steroids. The findings are discussed in terms of their policy implications.