Comparison of participant characteristics between reported legal PES use groups (n=946)
| Characteristic | Reported legal PES use (n=136) | No reported legal PES use (n=810) | P value | ||
| Freq. | (%) | Freq. | (%) | ||
| Gender (% male) | 76 | (56%) | 337 | (42%) | 0.002 |
| Age | 15.8 | ± 2.48 | 13.7 | ± 2.96 | <0.001 |
| Median income | 0.718 | ||||
| Lower-middle | 8 | (6%) | 73 | (9%) | |
| Upper-middle | 107 | (79%) | 600 | (74%) | |
| High | 21 | (15%) | 137 | (17%) | |
| White (n=916)* | 108 | (81%) | 686 | (88%) | 0.046 |
| Medical history | |||||
| Asthma | 25 | (18%) | 145 | (18%) | 0.892 |
| Attention Deficit Disoder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD / ADHD) | 22 | (16%) | 69 | (9%) | 0.006 |
| Anorexia/bulimia | 2 | (2%) | 2 | (0%) | 0.07 |
| Anxiety | 17 | (13%) | 48 | (6%) | 0.006 |
| Depression | 11 | (8%) | 16 | (2%) | <0.001 |
| Diabetes | 1 | (1%) | 3 | (0%) | 0.55 |
| Migraine | 7 | (5%) | 50 | (6%) | 0.64 |
| Sport-specialised athlete | 117 | (86%) | 642 | (79%) | 0.086 |
| Sport group | |||||
| Contact sport | 105 | (77%) | 658 | (81%) | 0.27 |
| Limited-contact | 33 | (24%) | 224 | (28%) | 0.41 |
| Non-contact | 50 | (37%) | 340 | (42%) | 0.25 |
| Cigarette use (n=663)* | 1 | (1%) | 0 | (0%) | 0.98 |
| Alcohol use (n=662)* | 35 | (29%) | 61 | (11%) | <0.001 |
| Age started organised sports | 5 | (5-6) | 5 | (4-6) | 0.07 |
| Relative is a coach | 7 | (5%) | 106 | (13%) | 0.01 |
| Number of seasons with coach | 0 | (0–2) | 0 | (0–2) | 0.30 |
| Unrestricted internet access | 96 | (71%) | 388 | (48%) | <0.001 |
| Reason for playing sports | 0.01 | ||||
| To have fun | 57 | (42%) | 453 | (56%) | |
| Stay fit | 16 | (12%) | 67 | (8%) | |
| Make friends | 3 | (2%) | 9 | (1%) | |
| Win a championship | 13 | (10%) | 64 | (8%) | |
| Be part of a team | 22 | (16%) | 116 | (14%) | |
| To be strong | 4 | (3%) | 17 | (2%) | |
| To make parents happy | 0 | (0%) | 3 | (0%) | |
| Unspecified | 21 | (15%) | 81 | (10%) | |
| Use of weight training regimen | 89 | (65%) | 309 | (38%) | <0.001 |
| Belief that athletic ability is influenced by weight | 97 | (71%) | 356 | (44%) | <0.001 |
| History of intentional weight loss | 46 | (34%) | 139 | (17%) | <0.001 |
| History of intentional weight gain | 49 | (36%) | 69 | (9%) | <0.001 |
| Weeknight hours of sleep | 7.5 | ± 1.07 | 8.2 | ± 1.24 | <0.001 |
| Weekend hours of sleep | 8.9 | ± 1.4 | 9.2 | ± 1.26 | 0.02 |
*The number in parentheses represents the number of cases with available data for the given characteristic.
PES, performance-enhancing substances.