Sun Protection as a Family Health Project in Families with Adolescents

Abstract

This study examined sun protection in families with adolescents from an action-theoretical perspective. Interview data were collected from 20 families about their attitudes and behaviors around sunbathing and sun protection. The data support the understanding of project as joint goal-directed action over time as the basis on which these behaviors are organized in families. Families used the language of goal-directed action to discuss family sun protection. Differences between families with focused and diffuse sun-protection projects are identified. Sun protection in families as one part of an array of family goal-directed actions and projects has implications for health promotion.

Expanding the Action Project Method to Encompass Comparative Analyses

“…These findings expand on Young, Logan, et al's (2005) original conceptualization of focus and diffusion in joint projects by indicating that a key component of the distinction between the two kinds of projects is in dyad member's ability to manage emerging conflicts and regulate their emotions as they engage in their joint projects. It might be much more difficult to come to a mutually accepted understanding of a project when disagreement occurs in an emotionally charged atmosphere or tends to precipitate avoidance rather than further negotiation.…”

“…However, if the primary purpose of comparison in action theory–oriented qualitative research is descriptive, and descriptions of phenomena can be generated from the existing action project method, then a question naturally arises: Why develop a new between-groups analytical procedure at all, especially when between-groups comparison has a contested position within qualitative research as a whole? At a purely pragmatic level, the answer is that action theory researchers have demonstrated an inclination to make between-groups types of conclusions, even in the absence of such a procedure (e.g., Young, Ball, Valach, Turkel, & Wong, 2003; Young, Logan, Lovato, Moffat, & Shoveller, 2005). These kinds of findings would be easier to justify if a clearly described set of procedures for conducting comparative analyses within action theory existed.…”

Predicting Australian adults' sun‐safe behaviour: Examining the role of personal and social norms

“…The strong emphasis on individual responsibility for health (and harm) in contemporary liberal cultures has been noted in the broader health literature (e.g., Harley et al, 2011;Leichter, 2003;McDonald & Slavin, 2010) and arguably reflects the societal norms of an individualistic culture. In the context of sun protection, increased individual responsibility for sun-safe decisions parallels with an increasing desire for independence in the adolescent years (Young, Logan, Lovato, Moffat, & Shoveller, 2005). It is possible that while perceived control may still be important for young people (e.g., White et al, 2008), personal choice and responsibility may be the driver of adults' sun-safe intentions.…”

Parental Rule Socialization for Preventive Health and Adolescent Rule Compliance

“…Few studies have examined the potential of parental influence on adolescents' health‐promoting behaviors, although there is a substantial literature on parental influences on children's nutrition (e.g., Clark, Goyder, Bissell, Blank, & Peters, 2007). Existing research on families with adolescents has explored general health preventive practices (Young et al, 2001) and specific practices such as good food/nutrition choices (Bourdeaudhuij & Oost, 1998) and sun protection (Young, Logan, Lovato, Moffat, & Shoveller, 2005). These studies demonstrate that primary influences on adolescent choices include both the observation of, and communication with, a parent and that parents have a growing influence on their children's preventive health behaviors during the teenage years (Lau, Quadrel, & Hartman, 1990).…”