Are Environmental Interventions Targeting Skin Cancer Prevention among Children and Adolescents Effective? A Systematic Review.

Skin cancer, which is increasing exceedingly worldwide, is substantially preventable by reducing unprotected exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR). Several comprehensive interventions targeting sun protection behaviors among children and adolescents in various outdoor settings have been developed; however, there is a lack of insight on stand-alone effectiveness of environmental elements. To compose future skin cancer prevention interventions optimally, identification of effective environmental components is necessary. Hence, an extensive systematic literature search was conducted, using four scientific databases and one academic search engine. Seven relevant studies were evaluated based on stand-alone effects of various types of environmental sun safety interventions on socio-cognitive determinants, sun protection behaviors, UVR exposure, and incidence of sunburns and nevi. Free provision of sunscreen was most often the environmental component of interest, however showing inconsistent results in terms of effectiveness. Evidence regarding shade provision on shade-seeking behavior was most apparent. Even though more research is necessary to consolidate the findings, this review accentuates the promising role of environmental components in skin cancer prevention interventions and provides directions for future multi-component sun safety interventions targeted at children and adolescents in various outdoor settings.

Adaptación y validación al español de cinco escalas para evaluar los determinantes del consumo de alcohol en adolescentes / Adaptation and validation of five scales to measure determinants of binge drinking in adolescents

Fundamento: Validar cinco escalas, basadas en un marco teórico para la adopción de comportamientos, que fueron diseñadas para evaluar los factores implicados en el consumo episódico excesivo de alcohol (CEEA) en adolescentes, concretamente: actitud, influencia social (Modelo, Norma y Presión) y autoeficacia. Material y métodos: Estudio observacional, transversal y multicéntrico. Mediante muestreo por conveniencia se incluyeron 397 adolescentes de 15 a 18 años escolarizados en institutos de Educación Secundaria de Sevilla y Huelva. Tras la traducción y revisión del instrumento por un panel de expertos se obtuvo un cuestionario en español que fue administrado a una muestra piloto para valorar la comprensibilidad y, posteriormente, los participantes completaron las cinco escalas para comprobar la validez estructural (análisis factorial y fiabilidad) y la validez de constructo. Resultados: En las cinco escalas, el primer factor explicó al menos el 28% de la varianza y la varianza total explicada fue siempre mayor que 60%. Tras la rotación, las cargas factoriales de los ítems fueron mayores a 0,40 para su factor de pertenencia. El alfa de Cronbach osciló desde 0,62 hasta 0,91. El coeficiente de Spearman fue menor a 0,7 al correlacionar las subdimensiones de las escalas, salvo en la escala de Autoeficacia, asumiendo multidimensionalidad con ciertas limitaciones. Conclusiones: Se presentan cinco escalas con indicios de fiabilidad y validez, cuyos ítems reflejan el marco teórico de referencia y que pueden evaluar los determinantes del CEEA. En el futuro se debería continuar con la validación para determinar su reproducibilidad, su validez de criterio con un 'gold estándar' o medida objetiva (AU)

Background: The aim of this study was to validate five scales, based on a theoretical framework for the adoption of behaviours, designed to assess the determinants in binge drinking in adolescents, namely: attitude, social influence (model, norm and pressure) and self-efficacy. Methods: Observational, cross-sectional and multicentre study. Through convenience sampling, 397 adolescents between 15 to 18 years old enrolled in secondary schools in Seville and Huelva were included. After translation and review of the original instrument by a panel of experts, a questionnaire was obtained in Spanish that was administered to a pilot sample to assess comprehensibility and, subsequently, the participants completed the five scales to check the structural validity (factor analysis and reliability) and construct validity. Results: On the five scales, the first factor explained at least 28% of the variance and the total variance explained was always greater than 60%. After rotation, all items had weights >0.40 for the factor to which they belonged. Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.62 to 0.91. Spearman's coefficient was lower than 0.7 when correlating the sub-dimensions of the scales, except on the self-efficacy scale, assuming multidimensionality with certain limitations. Conclusions: Five scales are presented with indications of reliability and validity, their items reflect the theoretical frame of reference and can evaluate the determinants of binge drinking. In the future, validation could be continued to determine its reproducibility, its criterion validity with a 'gold standard' or objective measure (AU)

Intimate partner violence in early adolescence:the role of gender; socioeconomic factors and the school

BACKGROUND:Intimate partner violence (IPV) among adolescents is common worldwide; but our understanding of perpetration; gender differences and the role of social-ecological factors remains limited.OBJECTIVES:To explore the prevalence of physical and sexual IPV perpetration and victimisation by gender; and associated risk and protective factors.METHODS:Young adolescents (N=2 839) from 41 randomly selected public high schools in the Western Cape region of South Africa (SA); participating in the PREPARE study; completed a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS:The participants' mean age was 13.65 years (standard deviation 1.01); with 19.1% (541/2 839) reporting being victims/survivors of IPV and 13.0% (370/2 839) reporting perpetrating IPV. Girls were less likely to report being a victim/survivor of physical IPV (odds ratio (OR) 0.72; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.57 - 0.92) and less likely to be a perpetrator of sexual IPV than boys (OR 0.33; 95% CI 0.21 - 0.52). Factors associated with perpetration of physical and sexual IPV were similar and included being a victim/survivor (physical IPV: OR 12.42; 95% CI 8.89 - 17.36; sexual IPV: OR 20.76; 95% CI 11.67 - 36.93); being older (physical IPV: OR 1.26; 95% CI 1.08 - 1.47; sexual IPV: OR 1.36; 95% CI 1.14 - 1.62 ); having lower scores on school connectedness (physical IPV: OR 0.59; 95% CI 0.46 - 0.75; sexual IPV: OR 0.56; 95% CI 0.42 - 0.76) and scoring lower on feelings of school safety (physical IPV: OR 0.66; 95% CI 0.57 - 0.77; sexual IPV: OR 0.50; 95% CI 0.40 - 0.62).CONCLUSIONS:Physical and sexual IPV was commonly reported among young adolescents in SA. Further qualitative exploration of the role of reciprocal violence by gender is needed; and the role of 'school climate'-related factors should be taken into account when developing preventive interventions