Support for indoor tanning policies among young adult women who indoor tan

• Published in: Translational behavioral medicine 2016-12, Vol.6 (4), p.613-621
• Main Authors: Mays, Darren, Murphy, Sarah E., Bubly, Rachel, Atkins, Michael B., Tercyak, Kenneth P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cross Cultural Psychology; Family Medicine; General Practice; Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; Health Psychology; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original; Original Article; Public Health
• ISSN: 1869-6716; 1613-9860
• DOI: 10.1007/s13142-016-0432-6

The purpose of this study to examine support for indoor tanning policies and correlates of policy support among young adult women who indoor tan. Non-Hispanic white women ages 18–30 who indoor tanned in the past year ( n  = 356, M 23.3 age, SD 3.1) recruited in the Washington, DC area from 2013 to 2016 completed measures of indoor tanning behaviors, attitudes, perceptions, beliefs, and policy support. Most women in the sample supported policies to prevent children under the age of 18 from indoor tanning (74.0 %) and stronger warnings about the risks of indoor tanning on tanning devices (77.6 %); only 10.1 % supported a total ban. In multivariable analyses, support for individual indoor tanning policies varied by demographics (e.g., age), frequent indoor tanning behavior, indoor tanning beliefs, and risk perceptions. Non-Hispanic white young adult women who indoor tan, the primary consumers of indoor tanning, and a high-risk population, largely support indoor tanning prevention policies implemented by many state governments and those currently under review for national enactment. Given low levels of support for a total indoor tanning ban, support for other potential policies (e.g., increasing the minimum age to 21) should be investigated to inform future steps to reduce indoor tanning and the associated health risks.