Out in the midday sun: Risk behaviour and optimistic beliefs among residents and visitors on Tenerife

A questionnaire was distributed to 107 local residents on a beach on the island of Tenerife and to 108 visitors from Britain and continental Europe. Measures included perceived danger of sun exposure, environmental concern, value of a suntan, optimism regarding personal risk of skin damage relative to others of one's age and gender, amount of midday sun exposure, sunscreen use and skin type. Use of sunscreen protection was greatly below recommended levels, though higher for women (N= 103). Among visitors, the British (N= 54) showed the riskiest behaviour. Relationship between behaviour, beliefs and background variables varied between groups. Overall there was a significant optimistic bias. This was stronger for the British, and for men. The relationships between optimism and other measures varied between the different national groups. In particular, among the British, greater optimism was associated with placing a higher value on a suntan, with having a more sensitive skin type, with using less adequate sunscreen protection, and with spending a (nonsignificantly) greater proportion of time exposed to the sun in the middle of the day. Among locals and visitors from continental Europe, optimism was associated with less midday exposure. It is concluded that these data offer evidence for two complementary interpretations of the relationship between optimism and health behaviour. On the one hand, those who perceive themselves to be at greater risk may be motivated to take more precautions, while risk-taking may be greater among those regard themselves as less vulnerable. On the other hand, those who take more precautions may infer that their own relative risk is lower. it is argued that research should not assume a single process relating perceived risk to behaviour, but consider factors that might predict the relative importance of alternative processes.