ArticleFrontiers in public health2026
Promoting anti-doping behaviors through group norms: understanding the role of team identity among adolescent athletes.
Article in Frontiers in public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Background: While anti-doping education programs have expanded globally, their effectiveness in collectivist cultural contexts remains poorly understood. Existing research has largely focused on individual-level psychological factors, overlooking how group-level social dynamics interact to shape health behaviors in intensive team-based training environments where both normative pressures and identity processes operate simultaneously. Objective: To examine whether and how group norms influence anti-doping behaviors among Chinese adolescent amateur athletes, and to test team identity as a potential mediating mechanism in this relationship. Methods: Cross-sectional survey of 1,718 adolescent athletes (mean age 18 years) from sports schools across 15 Chinese cities. Structural equation modeling tested direct effects of group norms on anti-doping behaviors and indirect effects through team identity as a mediator. Results: Group norms were strongly associated with anti-doping behaviors ( Conclusion: This study identifies a dual-pathway social mechanism through which group norms and team identity jointly shape adolescent athletes' anti-doping behaviors in collectivist sports settings. From a practical perspective, the findings suggest that anti-doping education programs should move beyond individual-focused knowledge delivery and explicitly incorporate team-level strategies, such as shaping shared norms, engaging peer leaders, and aligning team identity with health and ethical values. Interventions that strengthen team cohesion without addressing underlying performance-driven identity pressures may be insufficient or counterproductive. These findings provide actionable guidance for designing culturally adapted anti-doping education programs that leverage group norms while managing the potential risks associated with strong team identification.
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