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An exploratory study of the transtheoretical model of behaviour change
Author
Teoh, Lee San
Supervisor
Tan, Ai-Girl
Abstract
The objective of this study is to explore the Transtheoretical Model of Behaviour Change (TTM) constructs in an effort to understand how the adolescents in Singapore cope with their computer gaming behaviour. The gaming behaviour has been selected for investigation because of its rapid increased popularity amongst the adolescents in Singapore.
The sample comprised of a total of 112 adolescent students from a secondary school and who reported playing computer games 3 hours and above everyday. The students aged from 12 to 17 and of these, 75 were boys, 36 were girls and one did not indicate his or her gender. They completed a demographic sheet and three scales that measured the TTM constructs investigated in this study. Correlational analyses, regression analyses and independent t-test were conducted on the data collected.
The results showed that the three scales had good internal consistencies except for one subscale for the stages of change. Contrary to previous studies that found self-efficacy to significantly correlate to the maintenance stage, the results in the present study found that symptom management and interpersonal skills, part of the measurement used to measure task-specific self-efficacy, related to the precontemplation stage. Similar to previous studies, the present study found that decisional balance, particularly cons of changing was related to the precontemplation stage while the pros of changing is correlated to the contemplation, action and maintenance stages. T-test analysis indicated that boys are more likely than girls to consider the costs of changing their computer gaming behaviour when considering whether to quit playing the games. The results of this research appeared to partially support the applicability of the TTM to the computer gaming behaviour. As this is an exploratory study, future research will focus on the replication and refinement of the study.
The sample comprised of a total of 112 adolescent students from a secondary school and who reported playing computer games 3 hours and above everyday. The students aged from 12 to 17 and of these, 75 were boys, 36 were girls and one did not indicate his or her gender. They completed a demographic sheet and three scales that measured the TTM constructs investigated in this study. Correlational analyses, regression analyses and independent t-test were conducted on the data collected.
The results showed that the three scales had good internal consistencies except for one subscale for the stages of change. Contrary to previous studies that found self-efficacy to significantly correlate to the maintenance stage, the results in the present study found that symptom management and interpersonal skills, part of the measurement used to measure task-specific self-efficacy, related to the precontemplation stage. Similar to previous studies, the present study found that decisional balance, particularly cons of changing was related to the precontemplation stage while the pros of changing is correlated to the contemplation, action and maintenance stages. T-test analysis indicated that boys are more likely than girls to consider the costs of changing their computer gaming behaviour when considering whether to quit playing the games. The results of this research appeared to partially support the applicability of the TTM to the computer gaming behaviour. As this is an exploratory study, future research will focus on the replication and refinement of the study.
Date Issued
2008
Call Number
BF637.B4 Teo
Date Submitted
2008