Correlates of Sun Safety Practices in a Racially and Ethnically Diverse Sample of Adolescents: Implications for Skin Cancer Prevention Interventions.

Abstract

To guide skin cancer preventive interventions, this study examined correlates of sun safety behaviors in a racially and ethnically diverse sample of 407 adolescents completing a self-report survey at the time of their pediatric wellness visit. Adolescents regularly practiced few sun safety behaviors, and greater interest in cancer prevention was associated with more sun safety behaviors, ever smoking cigarettes was associated with fewer sun safety behaviors, and nonwhite minority adolescents practiced fewer sun safety behaviors than non-Hispanic whites. Clinical preventive interventions to increase sun safety practices among adolescents of all racial and ethnic backgrounds could be integrated into general cancer prevention education, including combining skin cancer prevention with antismoking counseling.