Consistency of reported tanning behaviors and sunburn history among sorority and fraternity students.

BACKGROUND

Reliable measurements of behavior are crucial to evaluating health promotion efforts. The goal of this reliability study was to examine the consistency of recalled tanning behaviors in a population with a potentially high use.

METHODS

We used the test-retest reliability of a self-administered survey to examine the consistency of reporting behavior patterns regarding artificial ultraviolet (UV) tanning, sunburns and sun sensitivity among sorority- and fraternity-affiliated university students.

RESULTS

High reliability on test-retest for questions evaluating the number of artificial UV tanning sessions and the number of sunburns during specific time periods was found.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, this study suggests that this sub-population of 18-23-year-olds, with a wider range of exposures than other 18-23-year-olds and older subjects, report lifetime artificial UV tanning consistently when required to recall time period-specific exposures before estimating their lifetime exposure.