Social Influences on Indoor Tanning Behavior in Young Women

描述(申请人提供)：黑色素瘤是最致命的皮肤癌，发病率和死亡率迅速上升，目前是美国第六大常见癌症。美国癌症协会估计，2010年美国有6.8万人被诊断为黑色素瘤，8700人死亡，平均每小时有8人被诊断出黑色素瘤，1人死亡。流行病学研究表明，使用人造紫外线室内日光浴床与患黑色素瘤的风险之间存在联系，国际癌症研究机构最近将室内日光浴床归类为对人类致癌。尽管人们普遍意识到使用室内晒黑会增加患皮肤癌的风险，但这种行为在年轻成年女性中仍然很受欢迎。研究发现，过去一年使用室内日光浴的流行率高达被抽样调查的年轻女性的一半。虽然年轻女性经常通过室内晒黑来改善自己的外表，但对社会文化对室内晒黑的影响，如媒介和室内制革行业的影响，研究相对较少。具体地说，我们将使用身体客观化理论的概念来确定年轻女性对媒体(即电影、广告)中女性对晒黑和IT使用的描述的看法是否会影响她们对自己身体外观的感受，并最终影响她们的IT行为。目前的提议采用了一种混合方法。该提案的第一个目的是通过对室内日光浴使用者进行一系列焦点小组，确立身体客观化理论对室内日光浴的重要性。第二个目标是使用调查研究来经验性地评估室内晒黑行为的理论模型，该模型包含了在第一个目标中被确定为重要的结构。对室内晒黑行为的更好理解对开发这项技术至关重要 旨在减少室内晒黑行为和实现降低未来皮肤癌发病率的公共卫生目标的新干预措施。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, has a rapidly rising incidence and mortality rate and is now the sixth most common cancer in the United States. The American Cancer Society estimates that 68,000 cases were diagnosed and 8,700 individuals died from melanoma in the U.S. in 2010, an average of 8 diagnoses and 1 death every hour. Epidemiological research has shown a link between use of artificial ultraviolet indoor tanning beds and risk of melanoma and the International Research Agency for Cancer recently classified indoor tanning beds as carcinogenic to humans. Despite being generally aware of the increased risk of skin cancer associated with the use of indoor tanning, the behavior remains popular among young adult women. Studies have found prevalence rates of past year indoor tanning use to be as high as half of young women sampled. Although it is well established that young women often engage in indoor tanning to enhance their physical appearance, sociocultural influences on indoor tanning, such as media and indoor tanning industry influences, have been relatively understudied. Specifically, we will use constructs from Body Objectification Theory to determine if young women's perceptions of the portrayal of tanning and IT use by women in the media (i.e., movies, advertising) influence how they feel about their bodily appearance and ultimately their IT behaviors. The current proposal utilizes a mixed methods approach. The first aim of the proposal is to establish the importance of Body Objectification Theory constructs on indoor tanning by conducting a series of focus groups with indoor tanning users. The second aim is to use survey research to empirically evaluate a theoretical model of indoor tanning behavior that incorporates constructs identified as important in the first aim. A better understanding of indoor tanning behavior is critical for the development of novel interventions designed to reduce indoor tanning behaviors and achieve a public health goal of reducing incidence of future skin cancers.