Abstract
Objective: Although several multi-item scales assess readiness to change alcohol consumption, some researchers have proposed that a small number of single-item rulers may assess readiness nearly as well. Participants: In fall 2006 and spring 2007, the authors assessed 279 participants who reported at least 1 heavy drinking episode in the 2 weeks prior to the survey. Methods: The authors compared answers from the Readiness to Change Questionnaire with rulers measuring importance and confidence regarding change. Results: Importance correlated strongly with readiness to change, whereas confidence correlated negatively and less strongly with readiness. The validity of the importance ruler as a proxy for readiness was supported by its correlations with several measures of patterns of alcohol use, as well as its precursors and consequences. Conclusions: Given the strong correlation between the importance ruler and the Readiness to Change score, this method may have practical utility as a brief assessment tool. Adding confidence as a second dimension slightly improved the ability to predict readiness.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 325-330 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of American College Health |
Volume | 57 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Nov 2008 |
Keywords
- Alcohol
- College
- Drinking
- Motivation