The cost of perfectionism : an analysis of the use of stimulant drugs among professional dancers

Abstract

This dissertation explores the use of performance-enhancing drugs among professional dancers, emphasizes their perfectionist attitudes, and evaluates the potential relation between these two elements. The research seeks to define perfectionism in relation to dance practice from a psychological perspective. It looks closely at the features of perfectionistic tendencies and discusses in further details their consequences in the dance context. It also evaluates the indicative factors for professional dancers’ drug consumption and investigates performance-enhancing drugs that commonly appear to be used among professional dancers. The study shows that elite dancers are often perfectionists, and how the consequences of these tendencies affect their career in a negative way. The study emphasizes that the pursuit of perfection, especially among professional dancers carries the potential of provoking the use of different types of performance-enhancing drugs. The research concludes that there is a paucity of research about the appearance of drug abuse in the dance domain, therefore it cannot be proved completely that professional dancers consume drugs in order to enhance their performance. However, in this case the collected data shows evidence that support this statement.