RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF AN APPEARANCE-FOCUSED INTERVENTION TO PREVENT SKIN CANCER IN COLLEGE FEMALES: THE “SKIN” CAMPAIGN
Open Access
- Author:
- Todaro, Alyssa Dawn
- Area of Honors:
- Biobehavioral Health
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Robert James Turrisi, Thesis Supervisor
Robert James Turrisi, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Lori Anne Francis, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- skin cancer
indoor tanning
appearance-focused intervention - Abstract:
- Indoor tanning, which is common among young females, is a risk factor for several different forms of skin cancer. College-aged women have been found to change their indoor tanning attitudes and behavior after receiving an appearance-focused intervention. The present study attempted to create a culturally-relevant, “youthful” appearance-focused booklet intervention with the goal of changing indoor tanning attitudes and behavior among college-aged females. Forty-eight freshmen females at the Pennsylvania State University were randomized into three groups: a control, an intervention group receiving the newly-designed booklet, and an intervention group receiving an already proven-successful appearance-focused indoor tanning booklet and tested at baseline, at a 3-month follow-up, and at a 6-month follow-up for changes in indoor tanning attitudes and behavior. They were also asked to rate the booklet on comprehension and several “youthfulness” measures. It was expected that the newer, more “youthful” intervention would be more successful at changing indoor tanning attitudes and behavior when compared to the group assigned to the older booklet and the control group. No significant differences were found among the three groups, presumably because of the small n due to the scope of the study. A reduction trend in indoor tanning intentions was observable for the experimental group who received the newer, “youthful” booklet. Future research is needed to single out which aspect of these appearance-focused interventions seems to work best on the target population (young females who use indoor tanning to improve their appearance).