The Transtheoretical Model (Stages of Modify)

The Transtheoretical Model (besides called the Stages of Change Model), developed past Prochaska and DiClemente in the late 1970s, evolved through studies examining the experiences of smokers who quit on their own with those requiring farther treatment to understand why some people were capable of quitting on their own. It was determined that people quit smoking if they were ready to do so. Thus, the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) focuses on the decision-making of the private and is a model of intentional alter. The TTM operates on the assumption that people do not change behaviors apace and decisively. Rather, alter in beliefs, especially habitual beliefs, occurs continuously through a cyclical process. The TTM is not a theory merely a model; unlike behavioral theories and constructs can exist practical to various stages of the model where they may be almost constructive.

The TTM posits that individuals move through six stages of change: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination. Termination was not part of the original model and is less often used in application of stages of modify for health-related behaviors. For each stage of change, different intervention strategies are near effective at moving the person to the next phase of change and after through the model to maintenance, the platonic stage of behavior.

  1. Precontemplation - In this stage, people do not intend to take activeness in the foreseeable hereafter (divers as within the side by side 6 months). People are frequently unaware that their behavior is problematic or produces negative consequences. People in this stage oftentimes underestimate the pros of changing behavior and place as well much emphasis on the cons of changing behavior.
  2. Contemplation - In this stage, people are intending to outset the healthy behavior in the foreseeable future (defined as within the side by side vi months). People recognize that their beliefs may be problematic, and a more than thoughtful and practical consideration of the pros and cons of irresolute the behavior takes place, with equal emphasis placed on both. Fifty-fifty with this recognition, people may notwithstanding experience ambivalent toward changing their behavior.
  3. Preparation (Conclusion) - In this stage, people are ready to take action within the next 30 days. People outset to have small steps toward the behavior modify, and they believe changing their behavior can lead to a healthier life.
  4. Activity - In this stage, people accept recently changed their beliefs (defined as within the last 6 months) and intend to keep moving forward with that behavior modify. People may exhibit this past modifying their trouble behavior or acquiring new healthy behaviors.
  5. Maintenance - In this stage, people accept sustained their behavior change for a while (defined as more than half-dozen months) and intend to maintain the beliefs alter going forward. People in this stage piece of work to foreclose relapse to earlier stages.
  6. Termination - In this phase, people have no desire to return to their unhealthy behaviors and are sure they will not relapse. Since this is rarely reached, and people tend to stay in the maintenance stage, this stage is often not considered in health promotion programs.

Stages of Change.png

To progress through the stages of change, people apply cerebral, affective, and evaluative processes. Ten processes of modify have been identified with some processes beingness more relevant to a specific stage of change than other processes. These processes upshot in strategies that help people make and maintain change.

  1. Consciousness Raising - Increasing awareness about the healthy beliefs.
  2. Dramatic Relief - Emotional arousal about the health beliefs, whether positive or negative arousal.
  3. Self-Reevaluation - Self reappraisal to realize the healthy beliefs is office of who they want to be.
  4. Environmental Reevaluation - Social reappraisal to realize how their unhealthy beliefs affects others.
  5. Social Liberation - Environmental opportunities that exist to testify lodge is supportive of the healthy behavior.
  6. Self-Liberation - Commitment to modify behavior based on the belief that accomplishment of the healthy behavior is possible.
  7. Helping Relationships - Finding supportive relationships that encourage the desired alter.
  8. Counter-Workout - Substituting salubrious behaviors and thoughts for unhealthy behaviors and thoughts.
  9. Reinforcement Management - Rewarding the positive behavior and reducing the rewards that come from negative beliefs.
  10. Stimulus Command - Re-engineering the environment to have reminders and cues that back up and encourage the healthy behavior and remove those that encourage the unhealthy beliefs.

Limitations of the Transtheoretical Model

In that location are several limitations of TTM, which should exist considered when using this theory in public health. Limitations of the model include the following:

  • The theory ignores the social context in which modify occurs, such equally SES and income.
  • The lines between the stages tin be arbitrary with no prepare criteria of how to determine a person's phase of alter. The questionnaires that have been developed to assign a person to a stage of change are not always standardized or validated.
  • In that location is no articulate sense for how much time is needed for each phase, or how long a person tin can remain in a stage.
  • The model assumes that individuals make coherent and logical plans in their decision-making process when this is not e'er truthful.

The Transtheoretical Model provides suggested strategies for public health interventions to address people at various stages of the controlling procedure. This can consequence in interventions that are tailored (i.east., a message or program component has been specifically created for a target population's level of knowledge and motivation) and effective. The TTM encourages an assessment of an individual's current phase of change and accounts for relapse in people'south conclusion-making process.

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