Equipping athletes to make informed decisions about performance-enhancing drug use: a constructivist perspective from educational psychology

This essay introduces some prominent constructivist theories of learning and shows how they can be applied to the design of anti-doping education programmes. It briefly outlines the ATLAS and ATHENA programmes, which have had some success in the USA, and explores the potential for educational research to make further contributions to the development of successful anti-doping education programmes. Recommended directions for future research into the education of athletes about performance-enhancing drug use include evaluation of existing educational interventions, testing just how much athletes know about drugs in sport, and whether educational programmes need evolve with the maturing athlete to impact their drug use behaviour.