SMOKERS IN 4 STAGES OF READINESS TO CHANGE

Smoking cessation is increasingly considered to be a process rather th en a discrete event. Several stage models that stress the process natu re of behavior change have been developed in the last decade. In the p resent study, a stage model is investigated that categorizes smokers i nto four groups with increasing readiness to change: immotives, precon templators, contemplators, and preparers. Smokers from the general pop ulation were recruited to participate in an investigation on smoking c essation interventions. At pretest, the anticipated positive and negat ive outcomes of quitting, perceived self-efficacy, and smoking behavio r were assessed. Three and 14 months after the pretest, the follow-up measurements were conducted. The cross-sectional results showed that s mokers in the four stages differed from each other on the factors pert aining to the positive outcomes and perceived self-efficacy. No differ ences between the four stages were detected concerning the number of c igarettes smoked a day, the nicotine dependence score, and the number of years smoked. The longitudinal results showed that the stage of rea diness to change at pretest was highly predictive of quitting at both follow-ups. It is concluded that this stage model is worthy of support . (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.