Do Teens Use Performance Enhancing Drugs to Emulate Their Professional Athlete Role Models?

YES

One in five males ages 18 – 25 said that taking APEDs is "the only way to make it in professional sports." An additional 24 percent said it was "critical to enhancing one's athletic performance." A whopping 77 percent of males surveyed said that APED usage in professional sports "puts pressure on young athletes to use drugs to get ahead."

NO

A study aimed to find out what motivates teen boys to take steroids, and found that the most reliable indicator of steroid use was a teen's own self- their self esteem and body image. The suggestion is that teenage boys who do take steroids do so because they want to look good for teenage girls.