Why do people use anabolic steroids?

One of the main reasons people give for abusing steroids is to improve their performance in sports. Among competitive bodybuilders, steroid abuse has been estimated to be very high. Other athletes, the incidence of violence is likely to vary depending on the specific sport.

Another reason people give for taking steroids is to increase their muscle mass and / or reduce your body fat. This group includes some people who have a behavioral syndrome (muscle dysmorphia) in which a person has a distorted body image. Men with this condition think they look small and weak, even if they are large and muscular. Similarly, women with the syndrome think they have the fat and flabby air, even though they are actually lean and muscular.

Some people who abuse steroids to increase muscle size have experienced physical or sexual violence. They're trying to build muscle to protect themselves. In a series of interviews with male weightlifters, 25 percent who abused steroids reported memories of childhood physical or sexual violence, compared to none of those who did not abuse steroids. In a study of women weightlifters, twice as many who had been raped reported using anabolic and / or other drugs steroids bodybuilding course, compared to those who had not been raped. In addition, almost all those who had been raped reported that they markedly increased their bodybuilding activities after the attack. They believed that being bigger and stronger would discourage further attacks because men find intimidating or unattractive.