Abel, Amy (2020) Predicting parental sunscreen intentions using the theory of planned behaviour. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Childhood sun damage can increase skin cancer risk, therefore it is important to understand
parental factors that influence sun-protection behaviours performed on behalf of young
children. While parental sun-protection behaviours have previously been examined
collectively, this study focussed solely on parental use of sunscreen using a theory of planned
behaviour framework. Parents (91.74% female) of children aged 6 months–6 years
completed two online surveys. The first (S1) measured sunscreen-related beliefs, attitudes,
subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and intentions, and the second (S2)
measured sunscreen behaviours two weeks later. As hypothesised, attitudes, subjective
norms, and perceived behavioural control explained 72% of variance in parental sunscreen
intentions (p < .001). Attitude was the strongest predictor of intentions, followed by
subjective norms, and then perceived behavioural control. It was also hypothesised that
intentions, and perceived behavioural control, would account for a significant amount of
variance in parental sunscreen behaviour, however this could not be analysed due to a low
retention rate (25.6%). Support was also found for the hypothesis that sunscreen-related
behavioural, normative, and control beliefs would be significantly, positively correlated with
attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control, respectively. In exploring
parental sunscreen behaviours in relation to effective sunscreen use recommendations, an
overall discrepancy was found. Findings indicated that several of these sunscreen behaviours
were only performed approximately half the time. This study provides evidence of the theory
of planned behaviour’s utility in predicting parental sunscreen intentions. It also identifies
constructs to target in interventions to increase parental sunscreen intentions.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Carla Jeffries |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 04 Jun 2025 05:15 |
| Last Modified: | 04 Jun 2025 05:15 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | sunscreen; sun protection; skin cancer; theory of planned behaviour; parents; young children |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52094 |
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