Original articlesWhat influences university students’ intentions to practice safe sun exposure behaviors?
Section snippets
Participants
The sample comprised 239 students recruited from two British universities. All participants were recruited either as part of an undergraduate psychology student project or in partial fulfilment of the requirements of an undergraduate psychology course; however, participation was voluntary, as there was a wide range of studies in which students could choose to participate. There were 39 (16%) male students and 200 (84%) female students, which reflects the predominance of female students on
Results
Participants were asked to describe their skin type according to the following classifications: “always tan, never burn” (33%); “always tan, sometimes burn” (39%); “always burn, sometimes tan” (24%); and “always burn, never tan” (4%). Seven percent of the sample reported having a relative who had experienced skin cancer and 11% knew of a nonfamily contact who had experienced skin cancer.
Only 12% of the sample reported that they regularly or frequently examined their skin for changes in nevi,
Discussion
The study examined whether the components of protection motivation theory were good predictors of intentions to practice adaptive and maladaptive sun exposure behaviors. The study focused on a sample of adolescents because solar exposure in early life is associated with increased incidence of melanoma in later life. Therefore, an understanding of the beliefs of teens and young adults is a key component in the development of health education campaigns aimed at reducing skin cancers. The results
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