Strength athletes who use anabolic steroids tend to score higher on measures of anger, impulsiveness, and muscle tension, and lower on how much they try to seem nice or socially acceptable, compared to athletes who’ve never used steroids or stopped using them for at least six months.
Claim Language
Language Strength
association
Uses association language (linked to, correlated with)
The claim uses the phrase 'is associated with,' which indicates a statistical relationship without implying causation. This language is deliberately non-causal and reflects correlation rather than direct effect.
Context Details
Domain
exercise_science
Population
human
Subject
Anabolic androgenic steroid users among strength athletes
Action
is associated with
Target
significantly higher scores on verbal aggression, impulsiveness, indirect aggression, muscular tension, and lower social desirability compared to non-users or long-term abstainers
Intervention Details
Gold Standard Evidence Needed
According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
Personality profile of men using anabolic androgenic steroids.
This study found that strength athletes currently using steroids were more aggressive, impulsive, tense, and less socially polite than those who never used steroids or stopped using them months ago — which is exactly what the claim says.