Eradicating the bad habit of smoking
The results of the conducted research show that out of 958 respondent listeners, 42.8% have a bad habit of smoking, 18.2% smoke sometimes and 39% do not have a bad habit of smoking. During the formative experiment, we carried out special work on the eradication of bad habits, in particular smoking, in which we relied on the provisions developed in the transtheoretical model of behavior change. This model is based on the fact that there is a certain sequence in the stages of changing a person's behavior. The study of data on people who quit smoking on their own initiative and on participants in anti-tobacco programs showed that they all went through the same stages. Initially, four stages were identified: rethinking, reflection, action, support. Later, another one was added - preparation - which takes place between reflection and action. Thus, we put forward a final model of five stages. Below is a description of each of them.
Rethinking. At this stage, the individual does not yet have a serious intention to change his unhealthy behavior, at least in the next six months. This term was chosen as a criterion, since it seems to be the maximum for planning any changes in behavior in the future. It is important to note that a person, being in the stage of reconsideration, always tries to avoid conflicts that could help in changing his lifestyle. He does not show interest in the proposed self-help methods and does not discuss his bad habits. Using the terms of decision-making theory, we can say that the individual exaggerates the positive aspects of his lifestyle and underestimates the degree of risk.
Consideration. The stage of consideration is a period when a person begins to seriously consider the possibility of changing his unhealthy behavior in the next six months. At this stage, the individual always evaluates the "pros" and "cons" of his lifestyle as almost equal (and having high value). Therefore, although thinking about changing behavior takes place, the results may appear ambivalent. At this stage, some processes of change are noted - especially empirical ones, determined by emotional components.
Preparation. The preparation stage begins when a person intends to change his behavior within the next month. Always during the year before this, some attempts have already been made, and now, perhaps, small but important steps are being taken in a new attempt to change behavior. In terms of the balance of decisions at the preparation stages, the "for" outweigh the "against", although both are still high.
Action. The action stage includes the six-month period following a decisive change in lifestyle and characterized by the stable preservation of the new style of behavior. The problem facing the individual is avoiding relapse. At the action stage, behavioral processes of change are most actively taking place, and the degree of temptation quickly disappears.
Support. This stage includes the period after six months from the moment of a clear behavioral change until the undesirable behavior is finally overcome. The use of change processes to avoid relapse is still taking place. The level of temptation continues to decrease, and self-confidence also increases. The moment of cessation of the existence of a bad habit is determined by the complete absence of temptation in any problematic situations and by maximum confidence in one's own ability to prevent relapse in any conditions.
As a result of the study, it was found that the eradication of bad habits depends on a number of factors, one of which is the criterion of decision balance, that is, the balance recognized by the individual between the arguments "for" and "against" the undesirable style of behavior. The "for" scale reflects all or almost all possible functional advantages of a bad habit, for example, smoking: pleasure, stress relief, awareness of one's own desired image. On the other hand, the "against" scale reflects the main reasons for quitting smoking: health, example for others, aesthetic values.
The scales make it possible to assess how important each of these factors is for an individual. The decision balance criterion was found to be useful in determining the stage reached by a given person in quitting smoking. Moreover, this approach made it possible to most accurately predict behavioral changes after a six-month follow-up. Research shows that the two-scale criterion "for" and "against" can be successfully applied in other areas related to solving health problems.
The next factor, which significantly depends on the success of avoiding bad habits, is the criterion of self-efficacy. It reflects an individual's ability to perform certain tasks. An increase in self-efficacy leads to an increase in achievement, and vice versa. Thus, change in self-efficacy has predictive value for long-term behavior change in the presence of sufficient motivation and skills.
As a result, the application of the transtheoretical model of behavior change allowed us to achieve certain successes in eradicating bad habits. This is evidenced by the data presented in the table. The dynamics of listeners' attitude to smoking before and after the formative experiment (in %).
As we can see, the increase in the number of listeners who do not smoke in the experimental groups occurred mainly due to the number of those who smoke irregularly. This is explained by the fact that the eradication of learned habits is much more difficult and slower than at the initial stage of their emergence.