Adelaide University. Australia: New research from the University of Adelaide shows that young Asian
Australians could be placing themselves at greater risk of developing
skin cancer by engaging in "dangerous" sun behaviour.
Although cultural norms in Asia suggest that having lighter skin is preferable, research conducted in the University's School of Psychology
shows that some young Asian Australians want darker skin and many are
deliberately tanning themselves, increasing their cancer risk.
The study, conducted by Dr Ashley Day
for her PhD at the University, is the first of its kind aimed at better
understanding the sun-related behaviours of young Australians of Asian
background. Dr Day surveyed 140 Asian Australians aged 18-26 years. The
results have been published in the European Journal of Cancer Care.
"Until
now, little has been known about the perceptions of young Asian
Australians of their skin tone and whether or not that affects their
behaviour," Dr Day says.
"Although the prevailing attitude among
Asian cultures is that lighter skin is better, there were a number of
young people in this group who desired darker skin than their own
perceived skin tone. These people engaged in behaviours that put them at
increased risk of skin cancer."
More than half of the women and
almost a third of the men surveyed had deliberately tanned themselves at
least once in the past few years, and many of these had experienced at
least one severe burn in the previous 12 months.
Dr Day says this demonstrates the impact of Australian culture on young people of Asian heritage.
"Studies
from the United States show that as they adopt Western culture, people
of Asian and Hispanic heritage engage in more tanning behaviour and
decreased levels of sun protection," she says. "This appears to be the
case among young Asian people in Australia, with the potential for peer
groups, media representations of beauty and celebrity, and overall sun
culture influencing their attitudes and behaviour."
Dr Day also found lower levels of understanding about skin cancer risks and sun health among this group.
"This
can lead to a combination of increased risks for young Asian
Australians: deliberate tanning to darken their skin, and a lack of
awareness of skin cancer and its early signs, which may lead to delayed
treatment and poor outcomes for patients," Dr Day says.
"We
believe increasing skin cancer knowledge in this group will be
important. More research is needed to better understand the impact of
Western culture on young people's attitudes to skin health."