Development of a scale to measure moral disengagement for occupational gains to enhance our understanding of the use of Performance and Image Enhancing Drugs (PIEDs) in the workplace
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Performance and Image Enhancing Drugs (PIEDs) are a cause of concern for those seeking to reduce health harms and associated transgressive behaviour. This form of behaviour is associated with moral disengagement and is collectively used to refer to acts that can have negative interpersonal consequences (Kavussanu, 2019). Moral disengagement (Bandura 1991) refers to cognitive mechanisms that separate our moral values from our actions, resulting in behaviour that conflicts with our moral values. This model has been used to theorise the use of PIEDs for occupational performance gains - for instance, in the police or in private security- with the development of the psychometric Moral Disengagement for Occupational Gains Scale. In this investigation, 84 participants (34 PIED and 50 Non-PIED users) from 10 occupations completed an online questionnaire, shared via social media. The questionnaire was based on an 8-factor model proposed by Bandura et al. (1996), with items adapted from validated scales investigating doping in sport. Twenty items measured the following factors: Moral Justification, Euphemistic Labelling, Advantageous Comparison, Diffusion of Responsibility, Distortion of Consequences and Displacement of Responsibility. Participants completed the questionnaire using a 7-point scale (1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree). The Moral Disengagement for Occupational Gains Scale (MDOGS) has demonstrated initial psychometric properties that support the use as a valid and reliable measure of moral disengagement for research into the use of PIEDs in an occupational context.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Ahmadi, N., & Svedsäter, G. (2016). “The winner takes it all”- individualization and performance and image enhancing in sport and in society. In Ahmadi, N., Ljungqvist, A., and Svedsäter, G. (Editors). Doping and Public Health. Routledge. Oxford, United Kingdom. pp 38-48. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315688428
Bandura, A. (1991). Social cognitive theory of moral thought and action. In Kurtines, W. M., & Gewirtz, J. L. (Editors). Handbook of moral behaviour and development: Theory, research and applications. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Hillsdale, NJ. pp. 71-129.
Bandura, A., Barbaranelli, C., Caprara, G., & Pastorelli, C. (1996). Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement in the Exercise of Moral Agency. J Pers Soc Psychol, 71 (2): 364-374. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.71.2.364 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.71.2.364
Boardley, I. D., & Kavussanu, M. (2007). Development and validation of the Moral Disengagement in Sport Scale. J Sport Exerc Psychol, 29: 608-628. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.29.5.608 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.29.5.608
Boardley, I. & Kavussanu, M. (2011). Moral disengagement in sport. Int Rev Sport Exerc Psychol, 4:2, 93-108. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984x.2011.570361 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2011.570361
Bray, R., Pemberton, M., Hourani, L., Witt, M., Olmsted, K., Brown, J., Weimer, B., Lane, M., Marsden, M., Scheffler, S., Vandermaas-Peeler, R., Aspinwall, K., Anderson, E., Spagnola, K., Close, K., Gratton, J., Calvin, S., & Bradshaw, M. (2009). Department of Defense survey of health related behaviours among active duty military personnel. RTI International. https://doi.org/10.1037/e645362011-001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/e645362011-001
British Psychological Society. (2017). Ethics guidelines for internet-mediated research. Leicester, UK.
Casey, A., Hughes, J., Izard, R., & Greaves, J. (2014). Supplement use by UK-based British Army Soldiers in training. Br. J. Nutr, 112: 1175-1184. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007114514001597 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114514001597
Cattell, R. (1966). The Scree test for the number of factors. Multivar. Behav. Res, 1: 245-276. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327906mbr0102_10
Fagan, J., Shulman, E., Cauffman, E., & Piquero, A. (2011). Moral disengagement among serious juvenile offenders: a longitudinal study of the relations between morally disengaged attitudes and offending. Dev. Psychol., 47: 1-14. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1934939 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1934939
Field, A. (2012). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (4th Ed.). Sage Publications. London, UK.
Fogel, C. (2012). Vocational Steroid Use: Reconsidering the Effectiveness of a Prohibition Approach. Socialinių tyrimų žurnalas, 3 (1): 25-36.
Goldman, A., Pope, H., and Bhasin, S. (2019). The Health Threat Posed by the Hidden Epidemic of Anabolic Steroid Use and Body Image Disorders Among Young Men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 104 (4) :1069- 1074. https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2018-01706 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2018-01706
Guttman, L. (1954). Some necessary conditions for common-factor analysis. Psychometrika, 19: 149-161. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02289162 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02289162
Hadia, N., Abdullaha, N., & Sentosa, I. (2016). An easy approach to exploratory factor analysis: marketing Perspective. J. Educ. Soc. Res., 6 (1): 215-223. https://doi.org/10.5901/jesr.2016.v6n1p215 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5901/jesr.2016.v6n1p215
Harvey, O. (2018). ‘Shades of Grey’: The Ethics of Social Work Practice in Relation to Unprescribed Anabolic Androgenic Steroid Use. Practice, 31 (4): 239-258. https://doi.org/10.1080/09503153.2018.1510480 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09503153.2018.1510480
Higate, P. (2013). Critical impact report: the politics of profile and the private military and security contractor. Bristol: University of Bristol, Global Insecurities Centre.
Hoberman, J. (2017). Dopers in uniform: police officers’ use of anabolic steroids in the United States. From Møller, V., Waddington, I., & Hoberman, J., (Eds.). Routledge handbook of drugs and sport. Routledge, NY. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203795347-35 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203795347-35
Jackson, L.E., & Sparr, J.L. (2005). Introducing a new scale for the measurement of moral disengagement in peace and conflict research. Conflict & Communication Online, 4 (2): 1-16.
Kavussanu, M., Hatzigeorgiadis, A., Elbe, A.-M., Ring, C. (2016). The Moral Disengagement in Doping Scale, Psychol Sport Exerc., 24: 188-198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2016.02.003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2016.02.003
Kavussanu, M and Ring, C. (2017). Moral Identity Predicts Doping Likelihood via Moral Disengagement and Anticipated Guilt. Sport Exerc Psychol, 39 (4): 293-301. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2016-0333 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2016-0333
Kavussanu, M. (2019). Toward an understanding of transgressive behaviour in sport: progress and prospects. Psychol Sport Exerc, 42: 33-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2019.01.009 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2019.01.009
Kurtz, D. (2008). Controlled burn: The gendering of stress and burnout in modern policing. Fem. Criminol., 3 (3): 216-238. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557085108321672 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1557085108321672
Larsen, R., & Warne, R. (2010). Estimating confidence intervals for eigenvalues in exploratory factor analysis. Behav. Res. Methods, 42 (3): 871-876. https://doi.org/10.3758/brm.42.3.871 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.42.3.871
Ledesma, R., Valero-Mora, P., & Macbeth, G. (2015). The Scree test and the number of factors: a dynamic graphics approach. Span. J. Psychol, 18 (e11): 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1017/sjp.2015.13 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/sjp.2015.13
Ljungqvist, A. (2016). Doping and public health- Historical background. In Ahmadi, N., Ljungqvist, A., and Svedsäter, G. (Editors). Doping and Public Health. Routledge. Oxford, United Kingdom. pp 11-21. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315688428 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315688428
Monaghan, L. (2002). Hard men, shop boys and others: embodying competence in a masculinist occupation. Sociol Rev., 50 (3): 334-355. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-954x.00386 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-954X.00386
Matthews, L. (2001). Doors of opportunity: Security staff at risk. DrugLink, pp. 14-17.
Moore, C., Detert, J.R., Trevino, L.K., Baker, V.L., & Mayer D.M. (2012) Why employees do bad things: moral disengagement and unethical organisational behaviour. Pers Psychol, 65:1, 1-48. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2011.01237.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2011.01237.x
Moore, C. (2015). Moral disengagement. Curr Opin Psychol, 6: 199-204. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.07.018
Nolte, K., Krüger, P., and Fletcher, L. (2014). Doping in sport: attitudes, beliefs and knowledge of competitive high-school athletes in Gauteng Province. S. Afr. J. Sports Med., 26 (3): 81-86. https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3108/2014/v26i3a103 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3108/2014/v26i3a103
O’Hagan, A., & Walton, H. (2015). Bigger, faster, stronger! an overview of anabolic androgenic steroids and their use and impact on the sport industry. Forensic Research & Criminology International Journal, 1 (3): 104-115. https://doi.org/10.15406/frcij.2015.01.00018 DOI: https://doi.org/10.15406/frcij.2015.01.00018
Osofsky, M., Bandura, A., & Zimbardo, P. (2005). The role of moral disengagement in the execution process. Law Hum Behav, 29 (4): 371-393. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10979-005-4930-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10979-005-4930-1
Petróczi, A. (2013). The doping mindset- Part 1`: Implications of the functional use theory on mental representations of doping. Perform. Enhanc. Health, 2: 153-163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.peh.2014.06.001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.peh.2014.06.001
Preston, C., & Colman, A. (2000). Optimal Number of Response Categories in Rating Scales: Reliability, Validity, Discriminating Power, and Respondent Preferences. Acta Psychologica. 104: 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0001-6918(99)00050-5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001-6918(99)00050-5
Rowe, R., Berger, I., & Copeland, J. (2016). “No pain, no gainz”? Performance and image-enhancing drugs, health effects and information seeking. Drug. Educ. Prev. Polic. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687637.2016.1207752 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09687637.2016.1207752
Salasuo, M., & Piispa, M. (2012). Perspectives to doping substance use outside elite sports in Finland. Finnish Youth Research Network and Finnish Youth Research Society Internet Publications, 123 (52).
Santos, G., & Coomber, R. (2017). The risk environment of anabolic-androgenic steroid users in the UK: examining motivations, practices and accounts of use. Int. J. Drug Policy, 40: 35-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2016.11.005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2016.11.005
Southern, N. (2018). Political conflict, policing and the challenges of masculinity: The experiences of women officers in the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles, 91 (1): 44-63. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032258x16687165 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X16687165
Stephens, D. (2014). Behaviour in war: the place of law, moral inquiry and self-identity. Int. Rev. Red Cross, 96 (895/896): 751-773. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1816383115000235 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383115000235
Tavakol, M., & Dennick, R. (2011). Making sense of Cronbach’s alpha. Int. J. Med. Educ, 2: 53-55 . DOI: https://doi.org/10.5116/ijme.4dfb.8dfd
Turvey, B., & Crowder, S. (2015). Anabolic steroid abuse in public safety personnel: a forensic manual. Elsevier, London. United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-802825-4.00001-4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-802825-4.00001-4
Warne, R., & Larsen, R. (2014). Evaluating a proposed modification of the Guttman rule for determining the number of factors in an exploratory factor analysis. Psychol Test Assess Model, 56 (1):104-123.
Wicks, J. (2017). UK steroid use is on the rise: what does it mean for the legal sector, family law and employers? Retrieved 19th January 2020 at https://blog.cansfordlabs.co.uk/steroid-testing-the-lowdown
Worthington, R., & Whittaker, T. (2006). Scale development research: a content analysis and recommendations for best practices. Couns Psychol, 34 (6): 806-838. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000006288127 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000006288127