Skin cancer is preventable with regular engagement in sun protective behaviors.

The objective of a new study published in Behavioral Medicine was to test whether the links of intention and habit strength with behavior differed between sun-protective behaviors.

The study was based on the hypothesis that sun protective behaviors would be predicted by both, habit and intention, and that intention-behavior associations would be weaker for people with stronger habits. Here, 203 citizens of Queensland, Australia, of mean age - 37.16 years were enrolled;75.96% were females. Participants self-reported their intentions and habit strength about sun-protective behavior for the next 7 days.

It was perceived that habit moderated the intention strength-behavior association—this moderation effect did not differ, as a function of which behavior was being predicted. People with strong or moderate habit strength tended to act in line with their intentions. Contrastingly, in individuals with very weak habits, there was less alignment between their intention and behavior. 

It was concluded that habit plays a facilitative role in the implementation of strong sun protective behavior intentions. Hence, interventions should be guided bymethods to encourage intention and habit to enhance sun-protective behaviors and to reduce the burden of skin cancer from sunexposure.

Source: Behavioral Medicine.2021 May 12;1-7. doi: 10.1080/08964289.2021.1903380.