|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
 The Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM) was developed by Dr. James L. Prochaska at the University of Rhode Island Cancer Prevention Research Center. It is a model for the stages that a person goes through in order to effect a change in behavior, whether it is quitting smoking, losing weight or any other change that helps you to live a healthier life. The stages of change in this model are organized in a continuum according to the decision-making process that is required to effect change. This model leaves room for movement forward and backward along the continuum. The steps that you take towards (or away from) change depend upon many variables: the decisions you make, the temptations you face, behaviors that are related to the problem behavior, psychology, environment, culture, economic situation, physiology, biochemistry and genetics.
Most importantly the model helps us understand that behavior change is not either easy or quick. We need to know where we are in our readiness to change and take appropriate actions to move to the next stage. Sometimes we slip back, and the model can help us to understand why and move forward again. Progress from one stage to the next IS success! We learn something at every stage that tells us what is going to make behavior change happen for our unique personalities and situations. Here is an example of how someone might experience the change process, using tobacco cessation as the change to be made. The first five steps occur in Precontemplation and Contemplation; the last five in Preparation and Action.
Source: Adapted from "Transtheoretical Model," from the University of Rhode Island Cancer Prevention Research Center, http://www.uri.edu/research/cprc/TTM/detailedoverview.htm. Visit the website for more detailed information on TTM. 
|
 |
| Sponsored by the Army National Guard, and the Office of the Chief, Army Reserve. Copyright 2008 |
