Is abstinence an alternative? Predicting adolescent athletes' intentions to use performance enhancing substances.

The present study incorporated the behavioral alternative of abstinence into the Theory of Reasoned Action to test whether abstinence contributed to the prediction of intentions to use performance enhancing substances (PES). Adolescent athletes (N = 241) completed a questionnaire about the use of legal and illegal PES. Approximately 2.5 percent of adolescents reported having tried an illegal PES and 17 percent reported having tried a legal PES. Results showed that attitudes and norms associated with abstinence contribute to the prediction of behavioral intentions over and above that of attitudes and norms associated with using both legal and illegal PES.