Young athletes and performance enhancement: A social-constructivist perspective

Abstract

For elite athletes, improving their performance is the central focus of their sporting lives. This principle extends to young aspiring athletes who invest significant effort today to become tomorrow’s heroes. In this thesis, I examine how ambitious young athletes ascribe meaning to performance-enhancing substances, with a focus on nutritional supplements and anti-doping work as well as their broader understandings of performance enhancement.

The outcomes of the research are presented in four papers. Paper 1 comprises a systematic literature review that synthesises prior research concerning the personal and contextual conditions shaping young athletes and their behaviours related to performance enhancement and health risks. Additionally, the review identifies relevant gaps in the literature and elucidates the direction of the subsequent three empirical works.

Papers 2–4 are empirical works based on data from interviews with young athletes. Twenty-four athletes from three private elite sports schools are interviewed about their interactions and how they ascribe meaning to various aspects of life as a young aspiring athlete. The theoretical foundation for all three empirical works is symbolic interactionism. In the analysis, principles and perspectives from symbolic interactionism were integrated with methodological tools from thematic analysis.

Paper 2 explores the relevant actors within athletes’ networks and how interactions with these actors contribute to the athletes’ meaning-making of nutritional supplements and anti-doping work. This article is grounded in Connor’s concept of the networked athlete and influenced by an interactionist perspective, providing insight into the diverse contributions of various actors.

Paper 3 delves into how athletes organise and frame nutritional supplements. Drawing on Goffman’s frame analysis, two primary frames were identified: nutritional supplements as performance enhancement, and nutritional supplements as food. Simultaneously, both frames exemplify a comprehensive performance logic that seems dominant in this context.

Paper 4 studies how athletes perceive and present their athletic identity, with use of Goffman’s perspective on the presentation of self. In addition to the three fundamental aspects of athletic identity—training, recovery, and nutrition—the analysis reveals that athletes also associate performance with the importance of demonstrating uniqueness, aligning their actions with the demands of the sport around the clock, and ensuring that the enjoyment of sports continues into the elite sports career.

Overall, the empirical papers explore athletes’ meaning-making in terms of performance enhancement in a broad fashion. Thus, through an open and exploratory research approach, several aspects that are relevant and important for the young athletes emerge. This provides insight into what it is like to live and manoeuvre in an elite sports bubble.