title: Correlates of sun protection behaviors among Hispanic children residing in a high UVR environment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Rates of melanoma are rising in Hispanics in the United States. Excessive sun exposure in childhood increases the risk of melanoma in adulthood, and little is known about the factors motivating sun protection behaviors among Hispanic youth.
  
  
  METHODS
  Correlates of sun protection were examined among Hispanic children residing in Los Angeles, California (N = 1891). Associations between multiple constructs (psychosocial, familial, and cultural) and sun protection outcomes (use of sunscreen, protective clothing, and shade seeking/sun avoidance) were examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Family variables were associated with more frequent sun protection among Hispanic children across outcomes, as were perceived peer norms, perceived self-efficacy, and fewer sun protection barriers. Skin cancer risk factors such as lighter skin and sunburn experience, and level of acculturation were not associated with greater sun protection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Family sun protection habits are instrumental to Hispanic children's sun safe behaviors, and interventions that engage the family may be most effective. Increasing risk communication to high-risk subgroups of Hispanic children (those with lighter, more sun reactive skin) is important when developing intervention strategies. However, there is overlap between Hispanic children's sun protection correlates and those observed among non-Hispanic white children, suggesting that interventions to improve sun protection may generalize across cultural contexts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Kimberly A
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0742-3730
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jimi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huh
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Unger
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jean L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Martin W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.|Department of Dermatology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Myles G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Cockburn
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D002648:Child; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles; D008297:Male; D000067074:Peer Influence; D011481:Protective Clothing; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013471:Sunburn / Q000523:psychology; D013473:Sunscreening Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000600:supply & distribution
chemical_list: D013473:Sunscreening Agents
keywords: adolescent; children; hispanics; melanoma; skin cancer