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The Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change was used to assess change in investing behavior among Investing For Your Future home-study course participants. The goal of Investing For Your Future is to help people improve their personal finance behaviors leading to financial security in later life. On average, after course participation fourteen of the fifteen investing behaviors were identified in the desired stages of established behavior. The study was based on Prochaska's Transtheoretical Model of Change (1979), including five different stages of behavior. This study investigated at what stage of change course participants are in for certain investing behaviors since completing Investing For Your Future (O'Neill et al., 2000). The stages of behavior are: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance. The desired stage was either the action or maintenance stage, which indicated that the investing behavior has been established. A person in the precontemplation stage is not thinking of future needs, not taking any actions to prepare for investing. Someone in the contemplation stage has set investing goals, but is not otherwise preparing to do the investing behavior. Someone in the preparation stage has both set goals and actively sought after information about the investing behavior. An individual in the action stage has not only done the preparatory actions, but has also engaged in the investing behavior. Finally, an individual in the maintenance stage has met the investing behavior action over an ongoing period of time. The quantitative survey design of this study was adapted from Dillman's Mail and Internet Surveys (2002). A survey questionnaire was created online using multiple choice and open-ended questions and was sent to the sample as a link in an email. The population consisted of Investing For Your Future (O'Neill et al., 2000) online course participants from April 1, 2001 through April 11, 2005. The initial sample consisted of 1,123, however at least 415 members of the sample never received the survey, reducing the sample to 708 people. Upon sending out the email, many error reports were received stating that the recipient did not receive the email. Response rates for the survey were very low, and can be attributed to multiple problems. / Master of Science

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This study tested the applicability of the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change in predicting early termination, appropriate termination, and ongoing treatment of Hispanic battered women residing at domestic violence shelters. Self-efficacy, decisional balance, and acculturation were examined in relation to the applicability of this model with the Hispanic women population. One hundred and eight women residing in two shelters for survivors of domestic violence, located in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, were asked to provide information regarding the problems in their relationships, the pull and the strain of their relationship, their level of temptation to stay in the abusive relationship, and how confident they felt that they would not return to their abuser (The Process of Change in Abused Women Scales- PROCAWS). In addition, the women were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their level of acculturation. This study confirmed the stage of change profiles found in a population of battered women as well as in other clinical populations and the results suggest that this model is applicable to Hispanic populations. The results indicated that the women in this sample could be meaningfully grouped according to their level of involvement in different stages of change. Furthermore, this study provided support for the validity of this theory by finding significant relationships among the profiles of change and the intervening variables that moderate movement across the stages of change. The women in this study differed with regard to their level of temptation to stay in their relationships and the amount of cons they to making changes. The findings also confirmed that the Transtheoretical Model can be used to predict termination status from domestic violence shelter programs. Although there were no significant differences in termination status among the women with different stage of change profiles, a trend existed that women in earlier stages of change terminated earlier and women in later stages of change terminated appropriately. Overall, the results of this study provide evidence for the applicability of the Transtheoretical Model and the usefulness of the PROCAWS in identifying profiles of change that can potentially guide treatment interventions and predict early termination with the Hispanic population.

Para que o indivíduo esteja engajado no uso do Aparelho de Amplificação Sonora Individual (AASI), é necessário que esteja motivado no seu processo de reabilitação e o profissional, tendo como ponto de partida a identificação do estágio motivacional do paciente, poderá apoiá-lo ao longo desse processo. Neste estudo foram realizados 2 experimentos distintos. O experimento 1 teve como objetivo caracterizar os perfis estabelecidos pela análise de clusters da Escala de Estágios de Mudança para Deficientes Auditivos (URICA-Audição), com base nos estágios motivacionais para a mudança em pacientes com deficiência auditiva. O experimento 2 teve como objetivo verificar se a URICA-Audição é sensível na identificação dos estágios de mudança em indivíduos submetidos à reabilitação auditiva. No experimento 1, foram analisados 200 protocolos preenchidos por indivíduos candidatos e usuários de AASI, com idade entre 24 e 94 anos, sendo 52 candidatos e 148 usuários de AASI há pelo menos um mês. Foi aplicada a URICA-Audição, composta por 25 itens divididos em cinco subescalas, com cinco itens cada: Pré-contemplação, Contemplação, Preparação, Ação e Manutenção. Para a análise dos resultados, foi realizada a Análise de Cluster Hierárquica por meio do método de centroides. Esta análise resultou em um total de 16 clusters distintos e, na solução encontrada, 167 sujeitos (83,5% da amostra) foram distribuídos em 8 clusters principais que continham mais de 10 participantes cada; 21 sujeitos (10,5% da amostra) se distribuíram em outros 3 clusters menores com 6 a 9 participantes; e 12 sujeitos (6% da amostra) se distribuíram em 5 clusters com 1 a 4 participantes cada. Dessa forma, verificou-se que os perfis dos pacientes subdividem-se em mais do que apenas 4 ou 5 estágios, como que em um continuum e, que a URICA-Audição é uma medida que pode, potencialmente, ser utilizada para avaliar onde os pacientes encontram-se no decorrer do seu processo de reabilitação auditiva. No experimento 2, foi realizado um estudo com avaliação pré e pósintervenção em usuários de AASI. Os participantes participaram em 4 sessões de reabilitação auditiva e responderam questionários avaliativos no início e no final da pesquisa. Os resultados indicaram que houve diferença nos momentos pré e pós-intervenção, no fator Ação/Manutenção da amostra estudada, assim como, na prontidão para a mudança do grupo. Houve correlação significante entre o tempo de uso do AASI na pós-intervenção com o estágio de Ação/Manutenção. Toda a amostra do presente estudo teve progressão nos estágios de mudança após a reabilitação auditiva. Apesar da amostra reduzida, foi possível realizar um estudo de reabilitação auditiva utilizando os preceitos do MTT, no entanto, é necessária a realização de outros estudos visando estabelecer estratégias de aconselhamento em reabilitação auditiva para cada estágio de mudança de comportamento. / In order for the individual to be engaged in the use of the Hearing Aid (HA), it is necessary that he is motivated in his rehabilitation process and starting with the identification of the patient\'s motivational stage the professional can support him throughout this process. There were performed two different experiments in this study. Experiment 1 aimed to characterize the profiles established by the clusters analysis of the Stages of Change for the Hearing Impaired Scale (URICA-Hearing) based on the motivational stages for change in patients with hearing impaired. Experiment 2 had as objective to verify if the URICA-Hearing is sensitive in the identification of the stages of change in individuals submitted to auditory rehabilitation. In the Experiment 1, two hundred protocols were filled out by candidates and users of HA, aged between 24 and 94 years, of which 52 were candidates and 148 were users of HA for at least one month. It was applied the URICA-Hearing that is composed of 25 items divided into five subscales, with five items each subscale: Pre-contemplation, Contemplation, Preparation, Action and Maintenance. For the analysis of the results, the Hierarchical Cluster Analysis was performed by means of the centroid method. This analysis resulted in a total of 16 distinct clusters and, in the solution found, 167 subjects (83.5% of the sample) were distributed in 8 main clusters that contained more than 10 participants each; 21 subjects (10.5% of the sample) were distributed in 3 other smaller clusters with 6 to 9 participants; and 12 subjects (6% of the sample) were distributed in 5 clusters with 1 to 4 participants each. Thus, it was verified that patients\' profiles were subdivided into more than 4 or 5 stages, as in a continuum, and that URICA-Hearing is a measure that can potentially be used to assess where the patients are in the course of their auditory rehabilitation process. In Experiment 2, an study with pre and post-intervention evaluation was performed in HA users. Subjects participated in 4 sessions of auditory rehabilitation and answered evaluative questionnaires at the beginning and at the end of the research. The results indicated that there were differences in the pre and post-intervention moments, in the Action/Maintenance factor as well as in the readiness to change of the studied sample. There was a significant correlation between the time of use of the HA in the post-intervention with the Action/Maintenance stage. All the sample of the present study had progression in the stages of change after the auditory rehabilitation. Despite the reduced sample, it was possible to perform a hearing rehabilitation study using the TTM precepts, however, it is necessary to carry out other studies aimed at establishing auditory rehabilitation counseling strategies for each stage of behavior change.

There has been inadequate attention to the aftercare of psychiatric patients, resulting in an increase in readmission rates plus longer hospital stays. There is a gap in the aftercare for psychiatric patients; The purpose of this qualitative retrospective study is to explore what may have contributed to readmission for psychiatric patients. The biopsychosocial model was used as the theoretical framework to support the direction of the research. The health belief model and transtheoretical model of change were used to further support for biopsychosocial model. The research questions were created to determine the influences on readmission, psychological well-being, explore the adaptation to aftercare and narrative of aftercare from the caregiver. This study used a content analysis to identify patterns and themes with a total of 10 participants. The data used had been previously collected by the behavioral transition team at Houston Methodist Hospital which consists of case notes, mental health diagnoses, hospital history and reasons for readmission. The findings include reports of psychiatric patients not adhering to their prescribed medication due to its side effects or cost, caregivers feeling overwhelmed, and the importance of psychoeducation. Once adjustments were made to the dosage or a prescription for less expensive medication, adherence improved, regular attendance to therapy sessions occurred, and the increase in the level of frustration from the caregiver. Psychiatric patients can benefit in post-discharge care if there is more focus on the reasons for hospital readmission by developing a treatment plan for the prevention of a relapse. This study may improve patient vulnerability to mental health issues and to assist psychiatric patients in establishing balance in their lives.