The Dislike of Hot Thermal Conditions and Its Relationship with Sun (Ultraviolet Radiation) Exposure in the Southeastern United States

Abstract

We investigated the relationship between peoples' preferences for being outside during certain months of the year, based upon their dislike of hot or warm temperatures, and of taking precautions against ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure. A sample of university undergraduates (N = 1400) living in the Northern Hemisphere completed an online survey in the late summer of 2017 that inventoried their dislike of heat and hot conditions, their sun tanning preferences and habits, and their preferences for being outside during different months of the year, along with whether they would protect themselves from the UVR exposure during those months. Dislike of hot conditions was negatively correlated with respondent preferences for sun tanning and with the number of months during the year that people enjoyed being active outside. A greater proportion of people who disliked hot conditions experienced risks of UVR overexposure during the spring and fall. In contrast, people who expressed more liking of heat frequently enjoyed being outside during the warmer months (April to October), and a significantly greater proportion of them experienced risks for sun overexposure in these months. Such individual differences in heat-related attitudes may explain a proportion the variability in individual risk behaviors for skin cancer that is not currently accounted for by approaches using objective variables such as temperature, thermal comfort indices, or the UV index.

Keywords: adults; attitudes; hot temperature; melanoma; risk-taking; skin neoplasms; sunbathing; sunlight; temperature; ultraviolet rays.

Figure 1

Frequency distribution of the total score on the Heat Dislike survey items with superimposed normal curve. (Note: Higher scores indicate greater dislike of heat).

Figure 2

Mean proportions and 95% confidence intervals of respondents who enjoyed being outside (blue profile) and the mean proportion of respondents who would use sun protection if outside (orange profile, by month). (a) Heat disliking respondents (N = 369). (b) Heat liking respondents (N = 352). Note: Sun protection includes behaviors such as seeking shade, wearing sunscreen, wearing protecting clothing, sunglasses, and/or a hat.

Figure 3

Mean proportions of heat liking respondents (N = 352) and heat disliking (N = 369) respondents who enjoyed being outside and would use no sun protection if outside (by month). A 95% confidence interval is also shown around each mean proportion.