Cargando…

Effects of Appearance- and Performance-Enhancing Drugs on Personality Traits

Appearance- and performance-enhancing drugs (APEDs) are commonly used by adolescents and young adults in an effort to improve not only athletic performance but also physical and mental efficiency and sexual appearance. The rationale for using these drugs is grounded in the perceived importance of ex...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Zaami, Simona, Minutillo, Adele, Sirignano, Ascanio, Marinelli, Enrico
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8497711/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34630182
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.730167
_version_ 1784580010748674048
author Zaami, Simona
Minutillo, Adele
Sirignano, Ascanio
Marinelli, Enrico
author_facet Zaami, Simona
Minutillo, Adele
Sirignano, Ascanio
Marinelli, Enrico
author_sort Zaami, Simona
collection PubMed
description Appearance- and performance-enhancing drugs (APEDs) are commonly used by adolescents and young adults in an effort to improve not only athletic performance but also physical and mental efficiency and sexual appearance. The rationale for using these drugs is grounded in the perceived importance of external appearance, the quest for health and youth, and the urge to boost one's sexual performances. Although APED users tend to be quite moderate overall, some specific subpopulations can display pathological use associated with high-risk behaviors. A wide and diverse range of APEDs is now easily accessible to almost anyone through backdoor online avenues. Common APEDs include anabolic–androgenic steroids, non-steroidal anabolics, anorectics, diuretics and ergo/thermogenics, nootropics or “cognition enhancers,” licit and illicit psychostimulants, and finally, sexual enhancers. The use of APEDs appears linked to several psychopathological disorders of unclear prevalence, e.g., body image disorders and eating disorders, perfectionism, but also depression and loneliness. The role of personality traits related to APED use has been investigated in adolescents and young adults, in elite and amateur athletes, and in chemsexers and associated with the above-reported personality traits. The studies herein analyzed show that APED consumption in the general population is quickly growing into a public health concern. It is therefore essential to launch prevention and intervention projects aimed at promoting safe instrumental use of the body, not only in sports disciplines but also among the general population, and to promote psychological aid procedures for people with substance use issues, depression and anxiety, and body image disorders.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-8497711
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2021
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-84977112021-10-09 Effects of Appearance- and Performance-Enhancing Drugs on Personality Traits Zaami, Simona Minutillo, Adele Sirignano, Ascanio Marinelli, Enrico Front Psychiatry Psychiatry Appearance- and performance-enhancing drugs (APEDs) are commonly used by adolescents and young adults in an effort to improve not only athletic performance but also physical and mental efficiency and sexual appearance. The rationale for using these drugs is grounded in the perceived importance of external appearance, the quest for health and youth, and the urge to boost one's sexual performances. Although APED users tend to be quite moderate overall, some specific subpopulations can display pathological use associated with high-risk behaviors. A wide and diverse range of APEDs is now easily accessible to almost anyone through backdoor online avenues. Common APEDs include anabolic–androgenic steroids, non-steroidal anabolics, anorectics, diuretics and ergo/thermogenics, nootropics or “cognition enhancers,” licit and illicit psychostimulants, and finally, sexual enhancers. The use of APEDs appears linked to several psychopathological disorders of unclear prevalence, e.g., body image disorders and eating disorders, perfectionism, but also depression and loneliness. The role of personality traits related to APED use has been investigated in adolescents and young adults, in elite and amateur athletes, and in chemsexers and associated with the above-reported personality traits. The studies herein analyzed show that APED consumption in the general population is quickly growing into a public health concern. It is therefore essential to launch prevention and intervention projects aimed at promoting safe instrumental use of the body, not only in sports disciplines but also among the general population, and to promote psychological aid procedures for people with substance use issues, depression and anxiety, and body image disorders. Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-09-24 /pmc/articles/PMC8497711/ /pubmed/34630182 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.730167 Text en Copyright © 2021 Zaami, Minutillo, Sirignano and Marinelli. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Psychiatry
Zaami, Simona
Minutillo, Adele
Sirignano, Ascanio
Marinelli, Enrico
Effects of Appearance- and Performance-Enhancing Drugs on Personality Traits
title Effects of Appearance- and Performance-Enhancing Drugs on Personality Traits
title_full Effects of Appearance- and Performance-Enhancing Drugs on Personality Traits
title_fullStr Effects of Appearance- and Performance-Enhancing Drugs on Personality Traits
title_full_unstemmed Effects of Appearance- and Performance-Enhancing Drugs on Personality Traits
title_short Effects of Appearance- and Performance-Enhancing Drugs on Personality Traits
title_sort effects of appearance- and performance-enhancing drugs on personality traits
topic Psychiatry
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8497711/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34630182
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.730167
work_keys_str_mv AT zaamisimona effectsofappearanceandperformanceenhancingdrugsonpersonalitytraits
AT minutilloadele effectsofappearanceandperformanceenhancingdrugsonpersonalitytraits
AT sirignanoascanio effectsofappearanceandperformanceenhancingdrugsonpersonalitytraits
AT marinellienrico effectsofappearanceandperformanceenhancingdrugsonpersonalitytraits