Psychology’s evolution: Two decades of the world anti-doping code and global doping prevention

In an attempt to address the critical issue of doping in sport, the first World Anti-Doping Code (WADC) was introduced in 2003. Over the following 20 years, researchers conducted both quantitative and qualitative research to aid our understanding of the psychological and social factors that influence doping. To date, there has been no comprehensive review of this body of research. To address this gap, a narrative review was conducted to explore publication, methodological, and theoretical trends in quantitative and qualitative doping research over the relevant period. The review identifies an increase in both quantitative and qualitative research over the 20 years, with a dominance of quantitative research, predominantly adopting cross-sectional designs. Conceptually, two theories were most dominant in quantitative research, whereas qualitative research exhibited greater theoretical diversity and a higher percentage of atheoretical studies. The findings highlight the need for more robust and ecologically valid research applicable to real-world anti-doping and clean sport education. The review also highlights the potential of mixed methods research to leverage the strengths of both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Building on these insights, the goal is for future research to make considerable progress in understanding and addressing doping in sport over the second 20 years of the WADC.