Kyle, RG, MacMillan, I, Forbat, L et al. (2 more authors) (2014) Scottish adolescents’ sun-related behaviours, tanning attitudes and associations with skin cancer awareness: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open, 4. ISSN 2044-6055
Abstract
Objectives: To describe Scottish adolescents’ sunrelated behaviours and tanning attitudes and assess associations with skin cancer awareness. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: 20 state secondary schools in one Scottish local authority (Glasgow City). Participants: 2173 adolescents (females: 50.7%, n=1102) with a mean age of 12.4 (SD=0.55). Outcome measures: Sun-related behaviour (suntan, sunbathing, sunburn, sunscreen use, sunbed use), tanning attitudes, skin cancer-related symptom and risk factor awareness. Results: Adolescents reported poor sun-related practice: 51% of adolescents reported sunburn the previous summer of whom 38% indicated sunburn on more than one occasion. Skin cancer awareness was low: 45% recognised ‘change in the appearance of a mole’ as a cancer symptom, and 39% agreed that ‘getting sunburnt more than once as a child’ increased cancer risk. 42% and 26% of adolescents, respectively, reported that friends and family held protanning attitudes. Compared with males, females were statistically significantly more likely to: report sunbathing ( p<0.001), use of lotions or oil to aid tanning ( p=0.009) and sunburn ( p<0.001); know that changes in the appearance of a mole was a skin cancer symptom ( p=0.036) and sunburn more than once as a child was a skin cancer risk factor ( p=0.005); perceive their friends to hold protanning attitudes ( p<0.001) and indicate that a tan made them feel better about themselves ( p<0.001), more attractive to others ( p=0.011) and healthier ( p<0.001). Conclusions: Scottish adolescents had poor sun protection practice and low skin cancer awareness. Girls adopted riskier sun-related behaviour despite greater awareness of skin cancer-related risk. Urgent action is required to promote positive sun-related behaviour and increase skin cancer awareness among Scottish adolescents. However, further research is needed to inform the development of effective sunsafe interventions.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 3.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work noncommercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Leeds Institute of Health Sciences (Leeds) > Academic Unit of Primary Care (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 06 Dec 2023 14:27 |
Last Modified: | 17 Dec 2023 15:26 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | BMJ Publishing Group |
Identification Number: | 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-005137 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:119631 |