This may be because steroids are not widely abused. Only about 2 percent of 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students have ever used steroids, according to the NIDA-supported Monitoring the Future study for 1996. However, steroid abuse occurs more often among young people who are involved in physical training because anabolic steroids can increase muscle mass, strength, and stamina, Dr. Nemeth-Coslett points out. Although adolescent boys, particularly those involved in athletics such as football or body building, make up the majority of high school steroid users, national surveys show that adolescent girls also are vulnerable to the lure of steroid use. However, that lure contains a hook - anabolic steroid use can have severe physical and emotional consequences for both males and females.
Physical effects can include stunted growth, high blood pressure, and liver tumors.
Psychological effects can include wide mood swings that range from episodes of uncontrolled anger and aggressiveness to clinical depression when steroid use is stopped. The program consists of classroom, weight-training, and parent information components. Together, they give student athletes the knowledge and skills to resist steroid use and achieve their athletic goals in more effective, healthier ways, he says. In a typical session, the football team is split into squads of six or seven students, with student squad leaders conducting the sessions and teaching most of the intervention, according to Dr. Goldberg. Coaches, who have a substantial influence on these student athletes, also play an important role on the steroid prevention team, Dr. Goldberg says.