Socio-Economic Effects of Doping on the Wellbeing of Youthful Long-Distance Runners in Kenya

Abstract

Sport has continued to play an important role in the lives of many people and the various cultures within the global arena. Involvement in sport does not just improve their self-esteem but also enables them handle stress, express talents and know their bodies better. The desire to always perform better in sport however confers undue pressure to an individual and may make performance enhancing substances attractive which may later lead to involvement in doping. These substances and techniques are prohibited as they are considered unfair means of winning against those who exhibit their natural potential. Doping in sports has negative inferences on athletes/runners owing to the severe health and social consequences borne of it. The general objective of this study was to explore the socio-economic effects of doping on the wellbeing of youthful long-distance runners whereas the specific objectives of this study included determining the accessibility costs of doping on the wellbeing; evaluation of the health costs of doping; assessment of the social status effects of doping; determining the economic status effects of doping; exploration of the professional costs of doping; and evaluation of the effects of the anti-doping cost on the wellbeing of youthful long-distance runners in Kenya. This study employed cross-sectional correlation study design to collect and analyze data. The study was restricted to the youthful long-distance runners at the Eldoret, Iten, and Kapsabet training camps. The respondents’ scope of events ranges from 800 to 10,000 meters of track races, cross-country and marathon. Stratified and snowball sampling techniques were used for the study in determining athletes to be sampled. The data was collected using questionnaires. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze data and the interpretation of findings was done by use of frequency tabulations. Data collected from the questionnaires was analyzed along the research objectives. Multiple regression analysis was used to depict the connection between the various variables given by the equation. The study concludes that that sustainability costs, economic status, social status and anti-doping measures contributes to the wellbeing of youthful long-distance runners in Kenya. The study findings also conclude that age, gender and education status moderates the relationship between socio-economic-effects of doping and wellbeing of athletes. The study recommends that wellbeing of long distance runners can be improved through consideration of socio-economic factors