Drug Use and Deviant Overconformity in Sport: A Sociological Approach

The use of banned substances continues in high performance sports despite control efforts by sport governing bodies and official testing organizations, such as WADA and USADA. The use of banned and other substances does not occur in a vacuum, nor does it occur as a choice made by athletes alone. Most accurately, it occurs in the context of a process through which young people become elite athletes, and this context includes relationships and external expectations that shape the training, body maintenance, Skill Development, and competitive readiness.