Doping, which can be defined as the prohibited use of drugs or other substances for performance enhancement in all sports, is a well-known issue (Reardon & Creado, 2014). Doping occurs in elite sport, sub-elite sport and even more concerningly at foundational stages of athlete development within youth sport (Backhouse, Whitaker, Patterson, Erickson, & McKenna, 2016). Research has highlighted that a multifarious combination of dynamics can impact the doping behaviour of athletes, but only recently research underlines the importance of contextual factors, such as sport culture and significant others, rather than just focusing on individual factors (Backhouse, Griffiths, & McKenna, 2017; Smith et al., 2010). As a blind eye is often turned to this dark side of sport from athletes, coaches and sporting organisations (Whitaker, Backhouse, & Long, 2014; Wilson & Derse, 2001); it is important to recognise that doping does not happen in a vacuum, but can be explored through social constructs as athletes function in an environment of complex and dynamic relationships (Erickson, Backhouse, & Carless, 2017a).
