Sun Protection Intervention for Highway Workers: Long-Term Efficacy of UV Photography and Skin Cancer Information on Men’s Protective Cognitions and Behavior

The risk for skin cancer is increased among older males and outdoor workers who have high levels of ultraviolet (UV) exposure. This study was designed to examine the long-term efficacy of UV photography interventions on male outdoor workers, the potential mediators of its impact, and the efficacy of UV photography and skin cancer vs. aging information with this population. One hundred forty-eight male outdoor workers were randomly assigned to one of four intervention conditions or a control condition in a two by two plus one factorial design. The men in the intervention conditions received or did not receive a UV photo of their face and watched either a photoaging or skin cancer educational video. Participants completed pre-intervention, immediate post-intervention, and 2-month and 1-year follow-up assessments. Analysis of covariance and structural equation modeling revealed that participants in the UV photography and cancer information interventions reported higher levels of sun protection cognitions, which were significant partial mediators of increases in sun protection behaviors and decreases in skin color. This study provides evidence for effective sun protection interventions on male outdoor workers that may help reduce skin cancer risk

Effects of upward and downward social comparison information on the efficacy of an appearance-based sun protection intervention: a randomized, controlled experiment

This experiment examined the impact of adding upward and/or downward social comparison information on the efficacy of an appearance-based sun protection intervention (UV photos and photoaging information). Southern California college students (N = 126) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: control, intervention, intervention plus upward social comparison, intervention plus downward social comparison. The results demonstrated that all those who received the basic UV photo/photoaging intervention reported greater perceived susceptibility to photoaging (d = .74), less favorable tanning cognitions (d = .44), and greater intentions to sun protect (d = 1.32) relative to controls. Of more interest, while the basic intervention increased sun protective behavior during the subsequent 5 weeks relative to controls (d = .44), the addition of downward comparison information completely negated this benefit. Upward comparison information produced sun protection levels that were only slightly (and nonsignificantly) greater than in the basic intervention condition and, as such, does not appear to be a cost-effective addition. Possible mechanisms that may have reduced the benefits of upward comparison information and contributed to the undermining effects of downward comparison information are discussed

Pottery and the end of Roman Britain : the view from Somerset and Dorset

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Social norms information enhances the efficacy of an appearance-based sun protection intervention

This experiment examined whether the efficacy of an appearance-based sun protection intervention could be enhanced by the addition of social norms information. Southern California college students (N = 125, predominantly female) were randomly assigned to either an appearance-based sun protection intervention that consisted of a photograph depicting underlying sun damage to their skin (UV photo) and information about photoaging or to a control condition. Those assigned to the intervention were further randomized to receive information about what one should do to prevent photoaging (injunctive norms information), information about the number of their peers who currently use regular sun protection (descriptive norms information), both injunctive and descriptive norms information, or neither type of norms information. The results demonstrated that those who received the UV photo/photoaging information intervention expressed greater sun protection intentions and subsequently reported greater sun protection behaviors than did controls. Further, the addition of both injunctive and descriptive norms information increased self-reported sun protection behaviors during the subsequent month.USA Skin cancer Sun protection Normative information Photoaging UV photos