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Jackson W. Skolik

ENG 1201

Dr. Nate Helmers

9 July 2020

The topic for this research project centers around illegal steroid use, a growing area of

concern in high school, collegiate, and professional sports today. The specific research question

to be answered is: What are the physical signs and effects of anabolic steroid signs abuse on an

athlete? Beginning in the 1954 Olympics when Russian weightlifters were given testosterone to

improve their performance, anabolic steroid abuse among athletes and nonathletes has been

historically tied to the desire of makes to improve their body appearance by building muscle

(“What is the History of Steroid Abuse?”). With the Anabolic Steroid Act of 1990, Congress

attempted to deal with the trafficking, possession, and use of these dangerous controlled

substances (“What is the History of Steroid Abuse?”). Despite their attempts to legislate the

issue, steroid use and abuse is still a big issue. As parents and coaches become more familiar

with the physical signs and effects of anabolic steroid abuse on young people, they will be more

equipped with helping young people who have been placed in their care.

Research into this topic’s question has resulted in some key points that have been

repeated multiple times in research literature. Regarding the signs that a person may be using

steroids; mood swings, depression, fatigue, and insomnia are all pieces of information that keep

coming to the surface of the research. In ¨Anabolic Steroid Abuse¨, Dr. Benjamin Wedro and Dr.

William C. Shiel state, ¨Individuals whos abuse steroids can experience withdrawal symptoms

when they stop taking steroids, such as mood swings, fatigue, restlessness, loss of appetite,
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insomnia, reduced sex drive, and steroid cravings. The most dangerous of the withdrawal

symptoms is depression because it sometimes leads to suicide attempts.¨ In ¨Mood Symptoms in

Steroid Users: The Unexamined Role of Concurrent Stimulant Use,¨ Dr. Pilar Sanjuan, Dr.

James Longenbucher, and Dr. Tom Hildenbrandt write, ¨Prior research has found adverse

psychological effects of steroids including anger, aggressiveness, depression, and mania.¨

Another often-repeated key point in this research is the list of negative effects that illegal

steroid use has on the body. In their article, ¨What Are the Side effects of Anabolic Steroid

Misuse?¨, the National Institution on Drug Abuse details negative health consequences for the

cardiovascular and hormonal systems, the potential for contracting infectious diseases, liver

damage, damage to the musculoskeletal system, psychiatric effects, and damage to the skin. The

National Institute on Drug Abuse writes in their online article, ¨Anabolic Steroids Drug Facts¨

the following negative effects of steroid abuse: ¨People who inject steroids increase their risk of

contracting or transmitting HIV/ AIDS or Hepatitis.” The same article goes on to explain the

long term effects of steroid use, such as kidney, liver, heart, cardiovascular and sexual

reproductive problems.

In the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, Michael Veber makes the argument that

steroids, as dangerous as they are, may be necessary for those who want to compete at the

highest levels of their sport. In his article, ¨The Coercion Argument,¨ Veber states, ¨Therefore, if

we lift the ban on P.E.D.s, athletes must either use them or (very probably) not compete among

the very best. This amounts to coercing athletes into using P.E.D.s and incurring the health risks

that accompany them.¨ Although he argues ultimately for the opposite of this stance later in the

article, it is easy to see the rationale that high-level athletes use when deciding to use illegal
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P.E.D´s The risks, both physical and psychological, for outweigh the successes that these athletes

may experience on the field of action.

A common misconception regarding P.E.D. use is that steroids are used only by athletes

that are trying to compete at higher levels. The research from at least two sources show that

young men often use steroids due to body image issues or disorders. In ¨Anabolic Steroid

Abuse,¨ Wedro and Shiel write, ¨People who use steroids to enhance their appearance by

increasing muscle and decreases fat may suffer from muscle dysmorphia or abnormal perception

of their own body. ¨ In Maryville University´s ¨Understanding and Preventing Steroid Abuse in

Sports, the authors back up this point by writing, ¨Athletes who suffer from MDD are prone to

unusual diets with an emphasis on protein and performance-enhancing supplements, steroid

abuse, overexertion in the gym, as well as a member of maladaptive psychological tendencies.¨

Clearly, there is more to a young person´s decision to use steroids than merely the prospects of

improved athletic performance.

The answers to the stated research question are pretty well documented in the research

that this researcher has undertaken. The signs and effects of steroid abuse are obviously

detrimental to a person´s body systems and psychological make-up. This researcher needs to do

more investigation into the details about each of the body systems affected by steroid abuse and

why those systems are impacted to the degree that they are affected. Digging deeper into the

¨hows¨ and ¨whys¨ of these effects will make this research project´s data richer and deeper for

the reader.
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Works Cited

ABC News. “‘Icarus’: How an Amateur Cyclist Fell into Secret World of Russian

Doping | ABC News.” YouTube, uploaded by ABC News, 10 Aug. 2017,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk0NWKUySIQ.

“Anabolic Steroids and Sports: Winning at Any Cost.” New York Department of Health

Magazine, 8 Mar. 2010, www.health.ny.gov/publications/1210.

“Anabolic Steroids DrugFacts.” National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of

Health, 16 June 2020, www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/anabolic-steroids.

Beamish, Rob. Steroids: A New Look at Performance-Enhancing Drugs. Santa Barbara,

CA, ABC-CLIO, 2011.

Bieler, Des. “‘Gatlin Denies Allegations, Fires Coach.’” Toronto Star [Toronto, Canada],

20 Dec. 2017, sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db+nfh&AN=6FTPS2017122044507489&site=eds-live.

Brand, Ralf, et al. “Illegal Performance Enhancing Drugs and Doping in Sport: A Picture-

Based Brief Implicit Association Test for Measuring Athletes’ Attitudes.” Substance

Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, vol. 9, no. 1, 2014. Crossref,

doi:10.1186/1747-597x-9-7.

“National Institute on Drug Abuse.” Drugabuse.Gov, National Institutes of Health, Feb.

2018, www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/steroids-other-appearance-

performance-enhancing-drugs-apeds/what-are-the-side-effects-anabolic-steroid-misuse.

NIDA. "What is the history of anabolic steroid use?." National Institute on Drug

Abuse, 9 Jun. 2020, https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-

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reports/steroids-other-appearance-performance-enhancing-drugs-apeds/what-history-

anabolic-steroid-use Accessed 9 Jul. 2020.

Sanjuan, Pilar M., et al. “Mood Symptoms in Steroid Users: The Unexamined Role of

Concurrent Stimulant Use.” Journal of Substance Use, vol. 21, no. 4, 2015, pp. 395–99.

Crossref, doi:10.3109/14659891.2015.1040089.

Schuler, Lou. “How to Tell If Someone Is Using Steroids.” Men’s Health, 14 Aug. 2015,

www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19547484/signs-of-steroid-use.

Veber, Michael. “The Coercion Argument Against Performance-Enhancing Drugs.”

Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, vol. 41, no. 2, 2014. EBSCO, web-b-ebscohost-

com.sinclair.ohionet.org.

Walsh, Brian. “‘Drugs in Sport.’” Legaldate, vol. 21, no. 4, 2009, pp. 6–8. EBSCO,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=44150499&site=ehost-live.

Wedro, MD, FACEP, FAAEM, Benjamin, and William Shiel Jr., MD, FAC{, FACR.

“Steroid Abuse Types, Symptoms, Side Effects & Treatment.” MedicineNet, 24 Dec.

2019, www.medicinenet.com/anabolic_steroid_abuse/article.htm.

Welker M.D., Michael. Personal Interview. 5 June 2020.