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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Jun 4.
Published in final edited form as: Eur J Cancer Prev. 2010 May;19(3):216–226. doi: 10.1097/CEJ.0b013e3283354847

Table 2.

Relationship between age, gender and objective melanoma risk factors, and perceived threat, preference for a tan, and score of intentional tanning.

Perceived threat
(min=0, max=4)		 Preferred level of tan
(min=0, max=4)		 Intentional tanning
(min=0, max=15)
Mean (SD) Sig. Mean (SD) Sig. Mean (SD) Sig.
Gender p < 0.001 p < 0.001 p < 0.001
  Men 2.69 (0.56) 2.71 (0.76) 2.20 (2.22)
  Women 2.84 (0.76) 2.78 (0.77) 2.44 (2.29)
Age p < 0.001a p < 0.001b p < 0.001c
  <25 2.66 (0.53) 2.85 (0.77) 2.93 (2.39)
  25–30 2.71 (0.51) 2.78 (0.74) 2.49 (2.26)
  31–40 2.75 (0.54) 2.78 (0.73) 2.31 (2.16)
  41–50 2.77 (0.58) 2.73 (0.81) 2.20 (2.30)
  >50 2.71 (0.57) 2.63 (0.78) 1.83 (2.14)
Hair colour p < 0.001d p < 0.001d p < 0.001d
  Black/Brown 2.77 (0.53) 2.79 (0.75) 2.39 (2.25)
  Blond 2.83 (0.54) 2.72 (0.78) 2.53 (2.40)
  Red 3.07 (0.58) 2.50 (0.87) 1.54 (1.87)
Fitzpatrick skin type p < 0.001 p < 0.001 p < 0.001
  III/IV 2.73 (0.52) 2.90 (0.69) 2.78 (2.35)
  I/II 2.95 (0.54) 2.49 (0.84) 1.55 (1.87)
Presence of freckles p < 0.001e p < 0.001e p < 0.001e
  None 2.69 (0.53) 2.83 (0.75) 2.60 (2.30)
  A few 2.83 (0.51) 2.74 (0.77) 2.32 (2.26)
  Many 3.06 (0.51) 2.64 (0.79) 1.82 (2.16)
Sunburn before age 16 p < 0.001f p < 0.001g p < 0.001f
  Never 2.63 (0.52) 2.86 (0.72) 2.68 (2.35)
  1–3 times 2.80 (0.51) 2.73 (0.76) 2.36 (2.23)
  Almost every summer 2.99 (0.54) 2.68 (0.82) 2.10 (2.34)
Number of large mole (>6mm) p < 0.001h p < 0.001i p < 0.001j
  None 2.69 (0.53) 2.83 (0.75) 2.60 (2.30)
  1–2 2.83 (0.51) 2.74 (0.77) 2.32 (2.26)
  >=3 3.06 (0.52) 2.64 (0.79) 1.82 (2.16)
Family history of melanoma p < 0.001 p < 0.001 p < 0.001
  No 2.76 (0.52) 2.78 (0.76) 2.44 (2.28)
  Yes 3.20 (0.51) 2.59 (0.80) 1.68 (2.10)
Previous melanoma p < 0.001 p < 0.001 p < 0.001
  No 2.75 (0.51) 2.78 (0.76) 2.47 (2.28)
  Yes 3.46 (0.45) 2.54 (0.88) 1.10 (1.83)
Total number of risk factors p < 0.001k p < 0.001k p < 0.001k
  0–3 2.63 (0.50) 2.92 (0.69) 2.75 (2.32)
  4–5 2.80 (0.51) 2.73 (0.76) 2.46 (2.31)
  > 5 3.09 (0.53) 2.53 (0.82) 1.63 (2.04)
a

Age group ‘<25’ had sig. lower score than the other age groups;

b

Age group ‘> 50‘ had sig. lower score than age groups ‘<25’, ’25–30’ and ’31–40’, and age group ’41–50’ had sig. lower score than age groups ’<25’;

c

Age groups ‘<25‘ had sig. higher score than the other age groups, and age group ’>50’ had lower score that the other age groups;

d

Respondents with red hair colour had statistically significantly different score that those with blond or darker hair colour;

e

Risk perception increased significantly with increasing number of freckling, and intentional tanning preference and intentional tanning frequency increased;

f

Risk perception increased significantly with increasing number of childhood sunburns, and intentional tanning frequency increased;

g

Respondents with no history of childhood sunburn scored significantly higher on preferred level of suntan;

h

There was a significant linear trend for number of moles and risk perception;

i

Respondents with no moles scored significantly higher on preferred level of suntan than those with three or more moles;

j

Respondents with three or more moles scored significantly lower on the scale measuring frequency of intentional tanning;

k

There was a significant linear trend for total number of risk factors and risk perception, tan-preference and tanning.