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Sunburn protection tops reasons for sunscreen usage

Avoiding sunburn was the most frequent reason given for sunscreen use by three different racial and ethnic groups, according to recent study results.

Researcher Heike I.M. Mahler, PhD, department of psychology, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), studied data from baseline questionnaires of nine experiments examining the efficacy of sun protection methods conducted between 2000 and 2009 at UCSD or area beaches. Mahler examined demographics, ultraviolet exposure, sun protection behaviors and reasons for using or failing to apply sunscreen. Participants who indicated ever using sunscreen selected from five reasons for usage, while nine choices were included by those who indicated ever failing to use sunscreen.

There were 795 participants who reported their ethnicity as white (mean age 24.24 years; 75.8% female), 323 as Asian/Pacific Islander (mean age, 20.51 years; 74.3% female) and 65 as Hispanic (mean age, 24.54 years; 73.8% female). Avoiding sunburn was the top reason given for using sunscreen by 94.9% of whites, 84.3% of Asian/Pacific Islanders and 87.9% of Hispanics. Skin cancer avoidance was reported by 85.4% of whites, 83.3% of Asian/Pacific Islanders and 77.4% of Hispanics. Avoiding wrinkles was indicated by 50.2% of whites, 36.1% of Asian/Pacific Islanders and 43.4% of Hispanics.

“I often forget” was the most frequent reason for not using sunscreen, reported by 71.7% of whites, 72.7% of Asian/Pacific Islanders and 67.3% of Hispanics. Being “too greasy” was the second most frequent reason for nonuse (35.9%, whites; 56.7%, Asian/Pacific Islanders; 30.9%, Hispanics). “Too much trouble” was indicated by 30.6% of whites, 43.3% of Asian/Pacific Islanders and 16.4% of Hispanics. There were 29.1% of Hispanics who indicated they did not use sunscreen because they had dark skin, compared with 3% of whites and 11.4% of Asian/Pacific Islanders.

“This study found some racial/ethnic differences in reasons for engaging in one important type of [skin cancer] risk reduction behavior — sunscreen use,” Mahler concluded. “Future prevention efforts may be improved by encouraging the incorporation of sunscreen into daily routines to decrease forgetting and perceived inconvenience.”

Disclosure: Mahler reports no relevant financial disclosures.