Assessing readiness for change among persons with severe mental illness

Studies focusing on the readiness of persons to change have burgeoned in re cent years. Assessing readiness for change is viewed as important for inter ventions aimed at promoting health behaviors, such as smoking cessation and substance abuse programs. This study is the first to examine readiness for change, as conceived by Prochaska and his colleagues, among a sample of pe rsons with severe mental illness who were about to participate in a vocatio nal rehabilitation program. We examined the reliability, validity, and othe r psychometric properties of the Change Assessment Scale and its ability to predict attrition and actual change.