Self-efficacy, decisional balance and the stages of change for smoking cessation in a German sample

Abstract

The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) has been shown to be a powerful basis for describing and explaining behavior change and designing effective interventions. Previous research has documented its usefulness in the context of smoking cessation as well as other areas but predominantly in US samples. The goal of this study was to provide further data on the applicability of the TTM and the relationship of some of its core constructs (stage of change, self-efficacy, decisional balance) in a German sample of smokers and ex-smokers. Participants (N = 401) were ever-smokers (age M = 47 years, range 35-65, 62% male) who participated in a health check-up for cardiovascular risk factors at their general practitioner's office. For current smokers, significant differences in the number of quit attempts across the stages of change supported the criterion validity of the staging algorithm; differences in number of cigarettes per day were non-significant. Self-efficacy for non-smoking behavior showed an almost linear increase across the stages of change, with significant differences between pre-action and action stages. The pros for smoking cessation also increased significantly across the stages, mainly due to a significantly lower perception of pros by participants in the Precontemplation stage. As expected, the cons for smoking cessation decreased significantly, being lower in Action and Maintenance than in earlier stages. Although the generalizability of the results for the stage distribution is limited by the selectivity of the sample, the results underline the applicability and replicability of these TTM core constructs for smoking cessation with newly developed instruments in a German sample.