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Volume 14
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10.3390/sports14010035
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

The Effect of Educational Intervention on Legal Anti-Doping Knowledge and Doping Tendency in Elite Athletes

by
Antonela Sinkovic
1,
Dinko Pivalica
2,3,
Igor Jukic
1,4,
Miran Pehar
5,6,
Bozen Pivalica
2,
Ivana Cerkez Zovko
5,6 and
Damir Sekulic
4,7,*
1
Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
2
University Hospital of Split, 21000 Split, Croatia
3
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Split, 21000 Split, Croatia
4
High Performance Sport Center, Croatian Olympic Committee, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
5
Faculty of Science and Education, University of Mostar, 88000 Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
6
High Performance Sport Center, University of Mostar, 88000 Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
7
Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Split, 21000 Split, Croatia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sports 2026, 14(1), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/sports14010035
Submission received: 2 November 2025 / Revised: 7 December 2025 / Accepted: 31 December 2025 / Published: 9 January 2026
Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

Studies have rarely examined the effects of changes in legal anti-doping knowledge (LADK) on doping tendencies in athletes. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured educational intervention focused on LADK and to analyze how LADK changes affect elite athletes’ doping tendency. The participants were athletes (n = 310; 156 females; 24.1 ± 4.2 years of age), all actively competing at the senior national or international level in either individual (N = 119) or team sports (N = 191), tested on sociodemographic-, sport-, doping-factors (including doping tendency—DT), and LADK. Participants were randomly divided into an experimental group (E: N = 140) and a control group (C: N = 170). The E group participated in a structured educational program on LADK. A pre- and posttest design was used to evaluate changes in LADK (dependent variable). Logistic regression was calculated to evaluate the association between LADK and binarized DT (negative vs. neutral/positive DT). Factorial ANOVA for repeated measurements revealed significant improvement in LADK in the E group, with significant ANOVA effects for time (F test = 35.8, p < 0.05) and time × group interaction (F test = 12.27, p < 0.05). The logistic regression did not reveal significant correlations between LADK and DT. Further studies exploring younger athletes, as well as long-term, multidimensional interventions, are warranted.
Keywords: health education; randomized controlled trial; doping in sports; logistic models health education; randomized controlled trial; doping in sports; logistic models

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MDPI and ACS Style

Sinkovic, A.; Pivalica, D.; Jukic, I.; Pehar, M.; Pivalica, B.; Cerkez Zovko, I.; Sekulic, D. The Effect of Educational Intervention on Legal Anti-Doping Knowledge and Doping Tendency in Elite Athletes. Sports 2026, 14, 35. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports14010035

AMA Style

Sinkovic A, Pivalica D, Jukic I, Pehar M, Pivalica B, Cerkez Zovko I, Sekulic D. The Effect of Educational Intervention on Legal Anti-Doping Knowledge and Doping Tendency in Elite Athletes. Sports. 2026; 14(1):35. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports14010035

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sinkovic, Antonela, Dinko Pivalica, Igor Jukic, Miran Pehar, Bozen Pivalica, Ivana Cerkez Zovko, and Damir Sekulic. 2026. "The Effect of Educational Intervention on Legal Anti-Doping Knowledge and Doping Tendency in Elite Athletes" Sports 14, no. 1: 35. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports14010035

APA Style

Sinkovic, A., Pivalica, D., Jukic, I., Pehar, M., Pivalica, B., Cerkez Zovko, I., & Sekulic, D. (2026). The Effect of Educational Intervention on Legal Anti-Doping Knowledge and Doping Tendency in Elite Athletes. Sports, 14(1), 35. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports14010035

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