Tanning attitudes and sun-related behaviour
| Statement Percentage of strongly agree/agree (n) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunbathed | Sunburnt | Sunbed use | |||||||
| Yes | No | Significance* | Yes | No | Significance* | Yes | No | Significance* | |
| Female | |||||||||
| Most of my friends think a suntan is a good thing | 61.8 (371) | 40.6 (177) | χ2 (1, 1036)=45.71 p<0.001 | 60.1 (370) | 42.7 (157) | χ2 (1, 984)=28.05 p<0.001 | 62.1 (41) | 52.1 (500) | χ2 (1, 1026)=2.50 p=0.114 |
| Most of my family thinks a suntan is a good thing | 35.7 (214) | 19.9 (86) | χ2 (1, 1031)=30.44 p<0.001 | 31.1 (191) | 25.6 (94) | χ2 (1, 982)=3.31 p=0.069 | 39.1 (25) | 28.1 (269) | χ2 (1, 1021)=3.51 p=0.061 |
| I like to have a suntan because it makes me feel better about myself | 42.6 (255) | 14.5 (63) | χ2 (1, 1032)=93.32 p<0.001 | 38.0 (234) | 20.6 (75) | χ2 (1, 980)=32.02 p<0.001 | 33.3 (22) | 30.4 (291) | χ2 (1, 1022)=0.24 p=0.622 |
| A suntan makes me feel more attractive to others | 31.3 (187) | 10.9 (47) | χ2 (1, 1029)=59.62 p<0.001 | 26.6 (163) | 16.4 (60) | χ2 (1, 979)=13.55 p<0.001 | 26.2 (17) | 22.4 (213) | χ2 (1, 1018)=0.50 p=0.478 |
| I like to have a suntan because I feel healthier | 23.2 (139) | 6.9 (30) | χ2 (1, 1035)=48.86 p<0.001 | 18.0 (111) | 12.4 (46) | χ2 (1, 986)=5.40 p=0.020 | 19.7 (13) | 15.6 (150) | χ2 (1, 1025)=0.76 p=0.383 |
| Male | |||||||||
| Most of my friends think a suntan is a good thing | 54.8 (154) | 30.3 (197) | χ2 (1, 932)=50.36 p<0.001 | 41.9 (195) | 34.5 (143) | χ2 (1, 880)=5.18 p=0.023 | 37.9 (22) | 38.0 (325) | χ2 (1, 914)=0.00 p=0.996 |
| Most of my family thinks a suntan is a good thing | 43.5 (121) | 21.1 (137) | χ2 (1, 926)=48.49 p<0.001 | 30.3 (139) | 25.2 (104) | χ2 (1, 876)=2.55 p=0.110 | 39.7 (23) | 26.4 (225) | χ2 (1, 909)=4.78 p=0.029 |
| I like to have a suntan because it makes me feel better about myself | 32.9 (91) | 11.7 (76) | χ2 (1, 928)=59.06 p<0.001 | 21.6 (100) | 13.8 (57) | χ2 (1, 876)=9.02 p=0.003 | 29.3 (17) | 17.0 (145) | χ2 (1, 911)=5.63 p=0.018 |
| A suntan makes me feel more attractive to others | 32.1 (88) | 12.2 (79) | χ2 (1, 924)=51.88 p<0.001 | 20.0 (93) | 15.9 (66) | χ2 (1, 880)=2.59 p=0.108 | 30.9 (17) | 17.1 (145) | χ2 (1, 905)=6.74 p=0.009 |
| I like to have a suntan because I feel healthier | 19.8 (54) | 5.8 (38) | χ2 (1, 928)=42.16 p<0.001 | 12.0 (56) | 7.2 (30) | χ2 (1, 884)=5.88 p=0.015 | 25.0 (14) | 9.0 (77) | χ2 (1, 926)=14.88 p<0.001 |
Statistically significant associations at the p<0.05 level are italicised.
*Pearson's χ2 test for 2×2 tables (ie, strongly agree/agree vs strongly disagree/disagree/neither agree or disagree/do not know).