British adolescents' sun protection and UV exposure awareness

The study was designed to investigate British adolescents' awareness of, and attitudes towards, sun protection and UV exposure. A qualitative design was used: data were collected from 227 Caucasian adolescents at a British secondary school, using open-ended questionnaires and ten focus groups. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The adolescents were all aware of sun protection, and felt that there were both advantages and disadvantages to the use of sunscreen, as well as advantages and disadvantages of UV exposure. They had mixed attitudes towards the benefits of tanned skin. The adolescents in this study had a good level of awareness of sun protection and the risks of UV exposure behaviour. However, there is a need for interventions that inform adolescents about the potential impact of UV exposure due to some of their ambivalent attitudes towards sun protection use and their positive attitudes towards UV exposure.