Parental Influences on Youth Sun Safety Behaviors: Concordance in Parent-Child Dyads

Parental influences are known to be important determinants of youth health behavior patterns, including sun-safety practices. However, there is a limited understanding of how familial transmission of sun-safety practices occurs within parent-child dyads. Objective: To examine the degree to which sun-safety practices are correlated between parents and offspring, and whether these associations differ by child's age and parent and child sex. Method: Data were drawn from the 2005 YouthStyles and HealthStyles surveys, two subcomponents of a nationally representative mail panel survey designed to assess health behaviors in youth (9-18 years) and adults. Parent–child dyads that completed both the HealthStyles and YouthStyles surveys were included in the current analysis. Adult participants and their offspring answered a series of questions about attitudes and behaviors related to sun protection. Bivariate correlations were used to assess associations between parent and child responses by: child's age group; same-sex matched dyads (mother-daughter, father-son); and mismatched-sex dyads (mother-son, father-daughter). Results: Overall, sun-safety attitudes and behaviors were significantly correlated between youth and their parents. However, these associations differed by age group, with weaker correlations observed in older children (15-18yrs) compared to younger. In addition, concordance of sun-safety behaviors was more pronounced in same-sex matched parent-child dyads versus mismatched-sex dyads, and strongest within mother-daughter pairs. Conclusions: The results of this analysis suggest that familial transmission of sun-safety attitudes and behaviors does not occur equally within parent-child dyads or across age groups. These data have implications for guiding the development of sun-safety interventions for parents and youth.