Dalton, B. Kids are saying yes. (1988, September). The Boston Globe.

OVERVIEW

A survey indicates that nearly 500,000 adolescents have used steroids. Has society taken seriously what has recently marred a major event at the XXIVth Olympiad? This is the question being raised after Ben Johnson, a Canadian athlete, was stripped of his gold medal because use of steroid drugs showed up in his post-race testing. In a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association it is stated that as many as 500,000 adolescents have taken steroids. This study shows for the first time how widespread the use of this drug has become and raises fears that the international spotlight on Ben Johnson in the Olympics will increase the popularity of the drug.

Some findings disclosed at a House crime subcommittee hearing in July 1988 revealed that

• Nearly seven percent of the 3,400 male high-school seniors polled at 46 public and private schools said they were using or had used steroids. Of that group, nearly 40 percent started using steroids before they were sixteen and had taken the drugs during five or more ‘cycles’ (usually six- to twelve-week periods).
• Nearly 40 percent had injected oil-based versions of the drugs, an alarming statistic because health officials are warning that AIDS is being spread among steroid users who share needles.

There is fear that abuse among teenagers may be higher than indicated in the study since both athletes and non-athletes were surveyed. But even more frightening is the fact that these young users seem not to worry about the dangers clearly associated with the use of this drug. For hard-core users, things like liver cancer, sterility, and heart disease seem not to be deterrents. What attracts them to continued use of steroids is the allure of a multi-million dollar contract of the sort offered to professional athletes, particularly in track and football. Dollars outweigh the dangers and potential disgrace associated with steroid abuse.

Representative Dan Lungren (R-California) wants stricter control of these drugs. "What’s the message to kids?" he asked. "The massage is that even if you get caught, you’re going to make money." Even Ben Johnson was offered a tryout with the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys. Lungren has sponsored pending anti-steroid legislation. He states that because kids are tremendously influenced by their heroes, it is necessary to take the message beyond the individual athlete to show society that it strongly affects high school students.

IMPLICATIONS

1. The pressure to succeed and get ahead in the world is felt keenly by kids today. It comes from their peers, families, and within themselves.
2. Professional athletes make big money; kids see athletics as an easy way to make it big early.
3. We need to help kids realize that true satisfaction comes out of honest personal achievements.
4. Using steroids is cheating. It is deceiving and it is wrong. Even those who seem to get rewards from it now will pay the price someday—and that price can be very high.
5. Using drugs is dangerous. Naive young people say, "It won’t hurt me." We need only to remind them of the recent deaths of several young professional athletes due to drug abuse (e.g., Len Bias, the basketball player).
6. We need to work to help kids realize that their best is good enough. It is their own conscientiousness and willingness to work hard that bring rewards and fulfillment—not the "almighty dollar" and the "quick fix" which are held out to them as being so easily obtainable but really are not. These are hard lessons to learn. Those working with youth need to be the caring people willing to help kids work through some of those lessons.