Valerie A. Clarke

Suntanning and sun protection: A review of the psychological literature

Excessive sun exposure has been linked to skin cancer and to premature aging, drying and wrinkling of the skin, predominantly among Caucasians. This review examines the psychological literature on suntanning and sun protection behaviours among Caucasians. The research is examined in relation to: methods of study; attitude and normative beliefs towards suntanning and sun protection; differences in suntanning and sun protection knowledge and behaviour as a function of age and sun protection; differences to change sun related behaviours. A consistent finding across studies is that many people show a high level of knowledge of the dangers of excessive sun exposure and the need for sun protection, however, this knowledge often does not transfer into behaviour, with many people, particularly adolescents, still desiring and actively seeking a suntan. The implications of these findings for intervention studies are discussed.

Unrealistic Optimism and the Health Belief Model

Why do people fail to engage in positive behaviors which will promote their health and well-being? Researchers addressing this question adopt primarily one of two perspectives, drawing either on theories of health behavior, such as the Health Belief Model (HBM), or on theories of risk perception, such as unrealistic optimism. To overcome this compartmentalization, two studies of cancer screening behavior assessed the extent to which unrealistic optimism occurred in relation to each of the elements of the HBM: severity and curability of cancer and the benefits of, and barriers to, having a screening test. Data were collected using telephone interviews, dialing numbers randomly selected from the telephone directory. In the first study 164 women aged 50 to 70 years responded to questions about breast cancer and screening mammography, while in the second study 200 men aged 45 to 60 years responded to questions about prostate cancer and screening using the prostate specific antigen test. Women had an optimistic bias in relation to breast cancer risk and severity and barriers to having a screening mammogram but not in relation to the benefits of screening. For prostate cancer, there was an optimistic bias for all HBM variables: risk and severity of prostate cancer and barriers to and benefits of screening. It was concluded that unrealistic optimism is broader than perceived risk, being evident for all elements of the HBM.

Skin type and optimistic bias in relation to the sun protection and suntanning behaviors of young adults.

The study examined the roles of general and personal beliefs and skin type in relation to suntanning and sun protection, by assessing various perceptions of risk of skin cancer both for the self and for the average person. A sample of 355 people aged 16 to 25 years was selected randomly from the telephone directory of a coastal provincial city. Highly structured interviews were conducted over the telephone. The findings were presented in relation to three research questions. First, skin type, classified as burn only, burn then tan, or tan without burning, influenced both general and personal beliefs. Compared to the tan-only group, the burn-only group perceived earlier age at onset, greater number of years of life lost, and greater severity of skin cancer, for both the average person and the self, and greater susceptibility to skin cancer for the average person. Second, differences were found between personally relevant and population-relevant beliefs on susceptibility to skin cancer, time of onset, and years of life lost due to skin cancer but not for perceptions of severity and curability. Finally, skin cancer beliefs were poor correlates of tanning and protecting behaviors. The factor explaining the greatest proportion of variance in both behaviors was skin type.

A computer attitude scale for secondary students

Abstract The rationale, theoretical model, development, reliability, validity, administration, scoring, and score interpretation of a Computer Attitude Scale for Secondary Students (CASS) are described

CAUSAL ATTRIBUTIONS, COPING STRATEGIES, AND ADJUSTMENT TO BREAST CANCER

In this retrospective questionnaire study of a convenience sample of 244 Australian women, type of causal attributions and their impact on coping strategies adopted by women with breast cancer were studied in relation to womens adjustment to their illness. Although 70% of the women made attributions about their cancers origins, these women were not significantly better adjusted than women who had not make an attribution. Of those women who had made a causal attribution, type of attribution, whether controllable or uncontrollable (based on perceptions as to the controllability/uncontrollability of the cause of the disease), determined the extent to which exhibited information-seeking behavior. In the present study, women who perceived the cause of their cancer as emanating from uncontrollable circumstances were more active in seeking information about breast cancer than women who perceived the cause of their cancer as emanating from controllable circumstances. Different types of coping strategies adopted by women were associated with adjustment. Women who rated their adjustment as excellent displayed lower levels of helplessness, made fewer changes to their social behavior, were more anxiously preoccupied with their illness, sought more alternatives to medical therapy, and exhibited more information-seeking behavior than did their less-well-adjusted counterparts. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

Gender-Based Factors in Computing Enrollments and Achievement: Evidence from a Study of Tertiary Students

Fewer females than males enroll in secondary and tertiary computing courses. This has implications for both the national economy and for the development of women as individuals. Explanations for gender differences in enrollments place varying emphasis on 1) social learning explanations focusing on the importance of experience, encouragement from significant others, the provision of male role models, and the generalization of pre-existing attitudes to mathematics and science, 2) category-based explanations of computer selection and avoidance, 3) beliefs about gender differences in abilities, and 4) gender differences in attributions for success and failure. Using a sample of 222 Australian first year tertiary students enrolled in a compulsory unit of computer studies, data were collected from questionnaires and the university database. Initial gender differences in computing experience and attitudes were found. Women were less likely to intend to pursue further computing studies, although their achievement was comparable to that of men. Achievement related to computing experience and in the case of men, to mathematics experience. Intentions to pursue further computing studies related to attitudes to computing and, in the case of women to mathematics experience and attitudes to statistics. The results are discussed in terms of the different roles of prior experience and attitudes and the implications for changing womens attitudes to computing.

Sex Differences in Computing Participation: Concerns, Extent, Reasons and Strategies

Drawing on recent Australian and overseas research, this review provides an overview of the main issues recurring in the literature relevant to sex differences in computing participation. The major concerns reflect requirements for citizenship, development of cognitive abilities, employment opportunities, and national development. Sex differences favour males in overall computer use, course enrolments, programming and games, although there are few sex differences in the use of computer applications. Explanations focus on sex-based differences in expected outcomes. These expectations arise from cultural beliefs about competence, differences in the outcomes of computer experience, associations of computing with mathematics, technology and maleness, attitudes of parents and teachers, and preferences for sex segregation. Strategies for increasing female participation are provided.

Characterizations of computing careers: students and professionals disagree

Abstract Girls are generally under-represented in secondary and tertiary level computing courses. Seeking reasons for these gender differences in enrollments, data were collected from open-ended interviews with three different samples of participants: (1) 34 male and 34 female students enrolled in the second or third year of a university computer science course; (2) 33 secondary school girls aged 13–17 years, drawn from four different schools; and (3) 19 women working professionally in a computer-based career. Both the secondary and tertiary students held stereotyped views of computing and computer-related careers which differed markedly from the perceptions of the professional women. Important aspects of these careers were identified by the professional women. The question remains as to the numbers of students who make a poor career choice based on inaccurate perceptions of both computing and non-computing careers.

Determinants of Teacher Stress.

Questionnaire data collected from a sample of 238 Australian teachers drawn from primary and secondary, government and non-government schools, were used to identify the factors associated with stress arising from four aspects of the teaching role: time/work-load pressures, student factors, school administration/staff tensions, and employment/community factors. About a third of the teachers reported a considerably high level of job stress. The greatest sources of stress were time and work-load pressures, which were related to being female, permanently employed, committed to teaching, and seeing oneself as conscientious, shy and unhappy. Stress arising from student factors was related to being female, highly committed to teaching, degree-trained rather than certificate-trained, lacking masculinity and lacking self-sufficiency. System and community-related stress was associated with teaching higher grade levels, a perceived lack of promotional opportunities, being employed in the government rather than the non-government system, being unwilling to take risks and being understanding. Stress associated with the school administration did not relate to any identifiable variables. All four areas of stress were positively associated with the use of emotion-focused appraisals, but did not relate systematically to the use of problem-focused appraisals despite the relatively high incidence of these appraisals. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Perceived sources of stress among student nurses

Questionnaire data was collected from a sample of 306 student nurses from three institutions (university, college of advanced education and hospital) during the second week of the first year of their course, and from 189 students from two of the institutions (university and CAE) at the conclusion of their first year of education. The main sources of stress on both occasions were essentially the same for women and men, and for students from the different institutions. These concerns focussed on study-related issues, the emotional demands of nursing, the use of technical equipment, interpersonal interaction, and lack of time for family and personal pursuits. It was suggested that these concerns could be reduced through the introduction of education in study skills, the provision of the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with technical equipment, and the development of social skills.