NCJ Number
192014
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 7 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2001 Pages: 1144-1163
Date Published
October 2001
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This study explored the suggestion that the transtheoretical model of behavioral change is a promising conceptual framework for understanding how women end abuse in their intimate relationships.
Abstract
Based on their own 1998 empirical study, Campbell, Rose, Kub, and Nedd suggested that a promising conceptual framework for understanding the process of ending abuse is the transtheoretical model (TM), also called the stages of change, which has been used successfully to address a range of health behaviors in diverse settings. This model conceptualizes the behavioral change process as five stages of readiness to change behaviors. In the precontemplation stage, an individual has no interest in changing because he/she does not recognize the behavior as a problem. As the individual develops an increasing awareness of the pros and cons of changing, there is a shift into the contemplation stage. Once an individual intends to change in the near future and has a plan, he/she has moved into the preparation stage. In the action stage, an individual is actively engaged in making changes. The maintenance stage occurs when the desired change has been achieved for some period of time (usually 6 months) and the individual takes steps to prevent relapse. This process is often cyclical, with individuals progressing and relapsing before achieving success. For the current study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 78 women who were either currently in or had recently left abusive relationships. The women talked about the following five stages of behavioral change: nonrecognition (precontemplation), acknowledgement (contemplation), consideration of options (preparation), selection of actions (action), and the use of safety strategies to remain free from abuse (maintenance). These results suggest that the TM model is consistent with how women described surviving their abusive situations. The TM is thus a promising model for guiding the development of stage-tailored interventions that address the abuse of women. Although the results from the current study support the application of the TM to women's experiences of abuse, much work remains to be done to replicate these results, develop and validate quantitative measures, and test the associated processes of change. 1 table and 48 references