LATENT TRANSITION ANALYSIS TO THE STAGES OF CHANGE FOR SMOKING CESSATION

A key construct of the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change is th e stage of change (Precontemplation, Contemplation, Preparation, Actio n, and Maintenance) (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1983, 1986). This study a pplies Latent Transition Analysis (LTA; Collins & Wugalter, 1992: Coll ins, Wugalter, & Rousculp, 1991) to movement through the stages of cha nge for smoking cessation. LTA is an alternative method of assessing c ategorical outcome that is sensitive to change, diagnostic, and allows for the comparison of alternative models of change. The sample consis ted of 545 reactively recruited smokers and former smokers who were as sessed five times over a two year period. LTA was used to compare thre e specified models. The model that fit the data best indicates that in a six month time frame both progression and regression among the stag es takes place as well as two stage progression. Examination of the pr obability of movement among the stages revealed three findings consist ent with the Transtheoretical Model. First, movement through the stage s is not always linear. Second, the probability of forward movement wa s greater than backward movement. Third, the probability of moving to adjacent stages was greater than the probability of two stage progress ion.