The impact of an appearance-focussed facial-ageing intervention on adolescents’ attitudes towards sun protection and UV exposure

The study investigated British adolescents’ experiences of an appearance-focussed, facial-ageing, morphing intervention designed to increase sun protection intentions. The study population consisted of 237 adolescents, 60 of whom were randomly allocated to participate in the appearance-focused intervention condition and 176 to a control condition. Participants completed questionnaires at baseline and immediately post-intervention. Adolescents who had participated in the appearance-focussed intervention had significantly greater intentions to use sun protection, significantly more negative sun risk beliefs, lower sun benefit attitudes and higher perceived sun damage susceptibility after viewing the information given than participants in the control group. It is concluded that appearance-focussed interventions may be a useful tool to use when educating young people about the importance of protecting their skin from UV exposure.