Knowledge of potential health risks alone is not a detenent to steroid use.
A frustrting aspect of adolescents ' knowledge of steroids is that, even when they ar aware of
potential health risks, that awarness does not deter steroid use. Eighteen of 30 key informants
rate knowledge of risks as ineffective in stering adolescents away from the drgs. The primar
reason given is the general tendency for incrased risk-tag by adolescents the "it can
happen to me" syndrome. Other impottt reasons offere by our key informants ar adolescent
perceptions that the rewar of steroid use outweigh the risks and that the medcal community
was wrong previously in saying steroids don t work.
The medical community s loss of credibilty is impottt when discussing adolescent steroid use
and possible strategies for deterrng use. Pror to 1984, expert repeatedy denied, based on
mixed results from earlier steroid studies, that steroids enhanced performance. In 1984,
however, the American College of Spons Medcine revised its position on steroids to say that
concurrent use of steroids with proper trning and diet may enhance performance. Also in 1984
Haupt and Rovere reviewed the steroid literatu and concluded that :msistent improvements in .
muscle strengt and size could result frm steroid use in athetes who followed proper training
and dieta regiens. Many physicians and scientists, however, sti insiste any weight gained
while takng steroids was maily the result of fluid r tention and that any strengt gain was
largely psychological.
As we mentioned earlier, 82 percent of current users diagr with medcal expens and
professional athletes who say steroid use can cause serious health problems. They disagree
because neither they, nor other users they know, are experiencing health problems. Many also
cite the lack of "hard evidence" to back up warngs (56%), their suspicion the warngs are
merely scar tactics (38%) and previous statemepts by expert who say steroids don t work
(27%). In shar contrast, 16 of 17 former users agr with the expert that steroid use poses
serious risks. Actualy experiencing the negative he;vtO effects was a strong motivation for over
half the former users to stop tang steroids