Abstract

Subjects (N= 970) representing five stages of smoking cessation (precontemplation, contemplation, action, maintenance, and relapse) were given a 65-item test measuring 10 basic processes of change. Subjects recorded the last time they quit smoking, their current use, the frequency of occurrence, and the degree of item helpfulness. A 40-item questionnaire provided highly reliable measures of 10 processes of change, labeled (a) consciousness raising, (b) dramatic relief, (c) self-liberation, (d) social liberation, (e) counterconditioning, (f) stimulus control, (g) self-reevaluation, (h) environmental reevaluation, (i) reinforcement management, and (j) helping relationship. In a confirmatory analysis, 770 subjects were assessed 6 months later. The analysis both confirmed the 10-process model and revealed two secondary factors, Experiential and Behavioral, which were composed of 5 processes each and reflected how individuals in particular stages use more than 1 process at a time. The transtheoretical model of change and available external validity evidence are reviewed.

Keywords

PsychologySmoking cessationBehavior changeClinical psychologyPsychotherapistCognitive psychologySocial psychologyMedicine

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Publication Info

Year
1988
Type
article
Volume
56
Issue
4
Pages
520-528
Citations
829
Access
Closed

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James O. Prochaska, Wayne F. Velicer, Carlo C. DiClemente et al. (1988). Measuring processes of change: Applications to the cessation of smoking.. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 56 (4) , 520-528. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006x.56.4.520

Identifiers

DOI
10.1037/0022-006x.56.4.520