title: [Validation of a Spanish questionnaire to evaluate habits, attitudes, and understanding of exposure to sunlight: "the beach questionnaire"].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Questionnaires are the usual method for investigating sun-related behavior. However,such tools must be validated through evaluation of their measurement properties.The aim of the present study was to assess the validity and reliability of a Spanish questionnaire evaluating habits, attitudes, and understanding of exposure to sunlight.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a cross-sectional study, the questionnaire was administered to a sample of 422 participants found on beaches. For the test-retest analysis, 70 hospital-based health professionals were interviewed on 2 separate occasions.The construct validity, internal consistency, and reproducibility were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Factorial analysis of the principal components confirmed the construct validity with commonalities and factor saturations > 0.50, and revealed multiple dimensions with Cronbach a values > 0.70.The items on habits and understanding showed intraclass correlation and d coefficient values > 0.70, but those on attitude had lower stability values (0.50-0.80).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first Spanish questionnaire with demonstrated validity and reliability for evaluating habits, attitudes, and understanding of exposure to sunlight. It will be a useful instrument for future epidemiologic studies and research into the prevention of skin cancer in Spain.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Costa del Sol. Marbella, Málaga, España. magdatm@hcs.es
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Troya-Martín
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Blázquez-Sánchez
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rivas-Ruiz
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fernández-Canedo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rupérez-Sandoval
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pons-Palliser
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Perea-Milla
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013030:Spain; D013472:Sunlight / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires