Social Influences on Indoor Tanning Behavior in Young Women

描述（由申请人提供）：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68000例黑色素瘤确诊病例，8700人死于黑色素瘤，平均每小时有8例确诊病例和1例死亡。流行病学研究表明，使用人工紫外线室内晒黑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晒黑床列为人类致癌物。尽管人们普遍意识到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流行。研究发现，去年室内晒黑的流行率高达一半的年轻女性样本。虽然年轻女性经常通过室内晒黑来改善她们的外表，但对室内晒黑的社会文化影响，如媒体和室内晒黑行业的影响，研究相对不足。具体来说，我们将使用身体客观化理论中的结构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觉，并最终影响她们的IT行为。目前的建议采用混合方法。该提案的第一个目的是通过对室内晒黑用户进行一系列焦点小组调查，确立身体客观化理论对室内晒黑的重要性。第二个目标是利用调查研究来实证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确定为重要的结构。更好地了解室内晒黑行为对发展至关重要

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.