Jan Åge Kristensen

• Kristensen, Jan Åge; Haugen, Tommy & Ommundsen, Yngvar (2024). Supplement usage and doping attitudes in elite youth sports: The mediating role of dietary supplement acceptance. PLOS ONE. ISSN 1932-6203. 19(2). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297078. Show summary

  This study investigated whether dietary supplement acceptance mediated the relationship between supplement use and doping attitudes in youth sports. To this end, we employed a two-wave half-longitudinal design during a sports season (time point one [T1] to time point two [T2]). The sample consisted of 217 elite youth athletes (47% male; mean age = 16.98 years, standard deviation = 0.88) who competed in team sports (43%; N = 93; basketball, floorball, handball, and ice hockey) and individual sports (57%; N = 124; alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, swimming, and tennis). The participants were recruited from eight Norwegian sports academy high schools that provide extracurricular, higher-level training and specialization for youth athletes. Results from structural equation modeling analysis indicated that dietary supplement acceptance (T2) mediated the positive relationship between supplement use (T1) and doping attitudes (T2) when accounting for prior levels of the mediator and the outcome variable. These findings suggest that when young athletes used dietary supplements at the start of the season to improve their performance, they were more likely to view the use of supplements as acceptable and to report more favorable attitudes toward doping at the end of the season six months later. For those seeking to prevent doping in youth sports, targeting athletes’ views on the acceptable use of dietary supplements may be important.

• Kristensen, Jan Åge; Haugen, Tommy & Ommundsen, Yngvar (2023). Perceived social pressure and intention to play through injuries in junior ice hockey: The sporting environment matters. Journal of Sports Sciences. ISSN 0264-0414. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2023.2273084. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Playing when injured is a risky yet common business among ice hockey players. Conceptualized within the framework of the theory of planned behaviour, the current cross-sectional study aimed to test a multiple-mediator model linking players’ perceived social pressure to their intention to play when injured. We tested whether social pressure is directly and indirectly (via attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control avoidance, and situational temptation) related to intention to play when injured. We recruited 186 junior players aged 16–20 years (mean age = 17.85; standard deviation = 1.35) from two Norwegian ice hockey leagues (under 18 and under 20 years of age). The data were analysed using a linear regression procedure and a bias-corrected bootstrapping technique to measure indirect effects. The results revealed a positive direct and indirect (via attitudes, subjective norms, and situational temptation) rela-tionship between players’ perceived social pressure and their intention to play when injured. In conclusion, players that perceived pressure to play despite being injured, who perceived positive consequences of doing so, who believed that people close or important to them approved of them doing so, and who perceived game-specific temptations, were more likely to report a stronger intent to play the game when injured.

• Kristensen, Jan Åge; Skilbred, Anette; Abrahamsen, Frank Eirik; Ommundsen, Yngvar & Loland, Sigmund (2022). Performance-enhancing and health-compromising behaviors in youth sports: A systematic mixed-studies review. Performance Enhancement & Health. ISSN 2211-2669. 10(4). doi: 10.1016/j.peh.2022.100237. Show summary

  Success in sports entails striving toward greater achievement and outstanding performance. In their pursuit of these goals, adolescent athletes use various means and resort to behaviors that may cause adverse consequences for their health. As they are still in the developmental stage, they are particularly vulnerable to unwanted health consequences. This study aimed to systematically review previous studies on the contextual and personal factors associated with adolescent athletes’ performance-enhancing and health-compromising behaviors. The review was conducted and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines. Several databases were searched, including SPORTDiscus, Pubmed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. The literature search and additional manual searches of sources yielded a total of 2,808 articles. These were screened against the inclusion criteria, and the remaining 15 were assessed for eligibility using Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool 2018. Convergent meta-integration with thematic analysis was performed by converting quantitative and qualitative data from young athletes aged 14–20 years into relevant codes and themes. Within these themes, the study's findings are presented through narratives that are perceived to influence young athletes’ use of doping and other behaviors that may lead to doping, such as the use of nutritional supplementation and non-prescription painkillers and playing despite being injured and having pain. Our findings indicate that athletes’ entourages (e.g., their coaches, peers, and parents) matter in a variety of ways in athletes’ socialization toward refraining from risking their health in pursuit of greater achievement and outstanding performance.

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• Kristensen, Jan Åge (2023). Jakten på prestasjon: Idrettsungdom og usunne helsevalg.
• Kristensen, Jan Åge (2023). Usunne helsevalg blant ambisiøse idrettsutøvere: Smerte, skade og bruk av prestasjonsfremmende midler.
• Kristensen, Jan Åge (2023). Unraveling young competitive ice hockey players’ intention to play through injuries: The sporting environment matters.
• Kristensen, Jan Åge (2020). Usunne helsevalg i ungdomsidretten: Medaljens bakside.

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