Adolescents’ Attitudes to Sun Exposure and Sun Protection

Abstract

Adolescents are considered a risk group for the development of skin cancer in later life due to their high rates of sunburn. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between attitudes to sun exposure and the sociodemographic characteristics of adolescents, their habits, practices and knowledge. As a secondary goal, we describe the magnitude and sign of the correlations between these attitudes. Cross-sectional study of adolescent students from 12 secondary schools in southern Spain, the subjects were asked to complete the 'Beach Questionnaire'. This instrument examines four dimensions of attitudes, with standardised scores of 0-100, related to the sun, sun tanning, sun protection and sun cream. The higher the score, the more positive the attitude. The study population was composed of 270 adolescents. The highest scores were obtained for attitudes towards sun protection practices (mean 66.2; SD 18.6) and towards sun tanning (mean 64.2; SD 21.1). The lowest scores were obtained for attitudes towards using sun cream (mean 50.1; SD 24.6). Significant differences were found for all four attitudes, with a positive sign for the relationship between the number of days of sun exposure and a higher score for attitudes towards sunbathing (27.3 points difference between response extremes) and for attitudes towards suntanning (20 points difference). Favourable attitudes towards sunbathing and sun tanning have most influence on inadequate habits of sun exposure and deficient measures of sun protection. Adolescents should be considered a priority group for targeted interventions to improve sun protection behaviour.

The Potential of Ultraviolet Radiation Meters in Secondary Schools as a Sun Protection Intervention Mechanism for Adolescents

“…This is especially the case amongst teenagers, with compliance with sun protection recommendations decreasing during adolescence [15,[17][18][19]. Teenagers have been described as particularly difficult to target due to reduced parental oversight, a desire to exert independence, increasing concern about appearance, a common desire for a tan, concerns about the opinions of peers, and increased risk-taking, all of which can result in low motivation to comply with sun protection recommendations [13,15,[20][21][22]. As a result, the framing and delivery of sun protection messages are particularly important, and direction from authoritative sources may be ineffective if adolescents perceive the communication to be a 'lecture' [23].…”

Peer Review #1 of "Awareness, behavior and attitudes concerning sun exposure among beachgoers in the northern coast of Peru (v0.1)"

“…Sun exposure is considered a potentially preventable risk factor for skin cancer (9) and an adequate knowledge and good practices play an important role in the prevention of the disease. In fact, some studies have been carried out in order to assess these variables in patients, workers and students (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15). However, only a few have focused on beachgoers, who are an important population at risk (16)(17)(18), and two of these studies only focused on behaviors and did not address knowledge or attitudes.…”

110‐year history of dermatology at the Seoul National University Hospital: prosperity through international cooperation

“…[5][6][7] DRESS syndrome has been associated with specific HLA (human leukocyte antigen) groups, in some ethnic groups, and for some causal drugs. 1,6 HLA-B * 15: 02 and HLA-A * 31:01 are considered HLA at risk for DRESS under carbamazepine. 6 HLA-A * 31:01 has also been reported with OXC.…”