# Promoting anti-doping behaviors through group norms: understanding the role of team identity among adolescent athletes

## TL;DR

This study explores how group norms and team identity influence anti-doping behaviors among Chinese adolescent athletes, revealing that strong team identity can weaken the positive impact of anti-doping norms.

## Contribution

The study introduces a dual-pathway mechanism linking group norms and team identity to anti-doping behaviors in collectivist sports settings.

## Key findings

- Group norms were strongly associated with anti-doping behaviors (β = 0.54, p < 0.001).
- Team identity negatively mediated the relationship between group norms and anti-doping behaviors (indirect effect = −0.194).
- Interventions should align team identity with health values to enhance anti-doping efforts.

## Abstract

While anti-doping education programs have expanded globally, their effectiveness in collectivist cultural contexts remains poorly understood. Existing research has largely focused on individual-level psychological factors, overlooking how group-level social dynamics interact to shape health behaviors in intensive team-based training environments where both normative pressures and identity processes operate simultaneously.

To examine whether and how group norms influence anti-doping behaviors among Chinese adolescent amateur athletes, and to test team identity as a potential mediating mechanism in this relationship.

Cross-sectional survey of 1,718 adolescent athletes (mean age 18 years) from sports schools across 15 Chinese cities. Structural equation modeling tested direct effects of group norms on anti-doping behaviors and indirect effects through team identity as a mediator.

Group norms were strongly associated with anti-doping behaviors (β = 0.54, p < 0.001). However, team identity exhibited a negative mediating pattern in this association (indirect effect = −0.194, accounting for 35.8% of total effect), revealing a paradox: while anti-doping norms show a positive association with healthy behaviors, the concurrent strengthening of team identity is statistically associated with an attenuation of this relationship. This negative mediation suggests that team-level interest coalitions can create conflicting pressures that complicate health promotion efforts in sports settings.

This study identifies a dual-pathway social mechanism through which group norms and team identity jointly shape adolescent athletes’ anti-doping behaviors in collectivist sports settings. From a practical perspective, the findings suggest that anti-doping education programs should move beyond individual-focused knowledge delivery and explicitly incorporate team-level strategies, such as shaping shared norms, engaging peer leaders, and aligning team identity with health and ethical values. Interventions that strengthen team cohesion without addressing underlying performance-driven identity pressures may be insufficient or counterproductive. These findings provide actionable guidance for designing culturally adapted anti-doping education programs that leverage group norms while managing the potential risks associated with strong team identification.