Development and validation of an appearance motivation attitudes scale for sun protection

Abstract

A reliable two-factor instrument measuring appearance motivation attitudes for sun protection was developed using a longitudinal sample of beachgoers. At baseline, data on sun protection and appearance motivation attitudes were collected on 2324 individuals. Principal components analyses (PCA) indicated a two-factor solution measuring attitudes toward tan attractiveness and skin protection with only 2 items loading on the skin protection factor. At 12-months, the instrument was revised and shortened but including 3 new skin protection items. Split-half analyses were conducted to further refine and develop the instrument. PCA on half of the sample revealed a two-factor solution, which was confirmed using structural equation modeling on the remaining half. This resulted in a two correlated-factor, 10-item measure. Each factor was summed to create two scales. Both scales were internally consistent and demonstrated good external validity, correlating with sun protection specific Transtheoretical model variables. The tan attractiveness attitudes scale significantly improved prediction of sun protection outcomes over 24 months, over and above TTM variables.

Keywords:

• Sun protection
• measurement development
• skin cancer
• behavior change
• Transtheoretical model

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Grant #AR43051. Portions of this article were presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine in San Diego, CA, March, 1999. Authors also wish to gratefully acknowledge the administrative and data collection assistance of Margaret Boyle, Sally Cottrill, and the contribution of all project participants.