DECISIONAL BALANCE AND STAGE OF CHANGE FOR ADOLESCENT DRINKING

The Transtheoretical Model of Change has been proven very effective in explaining both the acquisition and cessation of many health related behaviors. In this study, this model was applied to the domain of immo derate alcohol use among adolescents (usually drinking three or more d rinks per occasion). Measures for two constructs of the model were dev eloped: Stage of Change and Decisional Balance. A total of 853 tenth a nd eleventh graders who attend vocational training programs were admin istered a 37-item decisional balance questionnaire and a 5-item stagin g measure. A short (16-item) psychometrically sound Decisional Balance Inventory was developed based on an exploratory factor analysis that identified two factors, the Pros and Cons of Alcohol Use. The factor s tructure was confirmed using structural modeling techniques on a hold- out sample. Based on a combination of model fit and parsimony consider ations, an uncorrelated model was selected (IFI2 = .909). Students wer e classified into one of nine stages of acquisition or cessation. Exte rnal validity was established by the significant and meaningful differ ences between the stages of change on the pros and cons of alcohol use . Implications of this research are discussed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Scien ce Ltd.