Author(s): TIERNAN, C., KASHMER, F., GRIFFIN, A., Institution: UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK, Country: IRELAND, Abstract-ID: 1348

INTRODUCTION:
Intervarsity athletes fulfil dual roles both as a student and athlete, which can increase the stress and pressure athletes may experience [1]. Research has found a higher prevalence of alcohol consumption in collegiate athletes compared to non-athletes [2]. Rates of illicit recreational drug (IRD) use have been shown to be lower in athletes than non-athletes [2;3], and the prevalence of banned performance-enhancing drugs (PED) in collegiate athletes ranges from 0.8-9.8% [3;4]. Alcohol, IRD and PEDs can have negative effects on physical and mental health and performance [5]. This study was the first to investigate the prevalence of alcohol, IRD and PED use in Irish collegiate sport.
METHODS:
One hundred eighty-six (n=98 male, n=88 female) Irish collegiate intervarsity athletes, competing in either team (n=125; 67.2%), individual (n=58; 31.2%), or both team and individual (n=3; 1.6%) participated in the study. Participants completed an online self-reported questionnaire adapted from Yusko [3]. This investigated alcohol, IRD and PED lifetime use and prevalence. Data were analysed using SPSS (Kruskal-Wallis and Chi-squared) to explore significant differences between sports, genders, and frequency of use.
RESULTS:
Results found no reported use of PED by any respondent. The highest reported heavy drinking episodes over 12-months was ‘once per month’ (n=66; 35.5%); the highest frequency over the past month was ‘2-3 times per month’ (n=55; 29.6%). Team sport athletes reported significantly higher heavy drinking frequencies than individual sport athletes (p<0.05). Prevalence of lifetime IRD use was found to be 33.3% (n=62) and was significantly higher in males (p=0.002). Past month IRD use was shown to be significantly higher than the past 12-months (p<0.05).
CONCLUSION:
A main finding of this research was the absence of PED use in this sample and significantly higher IRD use in males. The frequency of heavy drinking episodes was lower than similar cohorts in previous studies and was less than the recommend allowance. However, the study supports the prevalence of alcohol consumption is greater within team sports, and practitioners need to be aware of its sports related adverse effects.

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