James, Stephanie (2022) Caregiver’s Behavioural Intention to use Sunscreen on Their Child: An examination of Beliefs using the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) in childhood and the connection to skin cancer is well established, however, children are still getting sunburnt at alarming rates. The aim of this research was, using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), to explore the psychosocial factors that influence caregiver’s use of sunscreen on their child. Participants (N = 83) were the parent/guardian of a child aged between 6 months to 6 years and recruited from psychology courses at a regional university and online social media platforms. Data was collected via two online surveys. The first survey measured the TPB constructs; attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, as well as their behavioural, normative and control beliefs, and intentions to use sunscreen on their child. Two weeks later participants (N = 14) completed a follow-up survey which measured the behaviour of applying sunscreen to their child. A multiple regression analysis revealed the TPB constructs to significantly predict caregiver’s intention to use sunscreen on their child, accounting for 63.1% of the variance, with attitude being the strongest predictor (ß =.41, p <.001). Due to a small sample size, the relationship between intention and behaviour was unable to be analysed. Bivariate correlational analyses revealed significant, positive correlations between certain behavioural, normative, and control beliefs and their respective TPB construct. This study supports the utility of the TPB to predict sunscreen use and identifies key beliefs that are associated with the constructs which may be useful in developing public health interventions.
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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: | Current – Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Wellbeing (1 Jan 2022 -) |
| Supervisors: | Carla Jeffries |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 30 May 2025 01:52 |
| Last Modified: | 30 May 2025 01:52 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Sunscreen; Theory of Planned Behaviour; Caregivers; Beliefs; Skin Cancer |
| 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/52445 |
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