2014 Volume 35 Issue 4 Pages 438-446
The purpose of this study was to develop the stages scale of behavior change to increase going-out among community-dwelling elderly. We conducted the survey using two samples. In sample A, we sent questionnaires to 8,000 elderly people in Tokyo and 2,058 responded. In sample B, we sent questionnaires to 1,347 elderly people in Fukushima prefecture and 867 responded. Measurements were age, sex, self-rated health, going-out stages of behavior change and self-efficacy of going-out. We analyzed distribution of stages and relationship between stages and self-efficacy of going-out. Results were consistent across the two samples.
Distribution of stages was as follows: in sample A, 51 persons in the pre-contemplation stage (2.5%), 34 persons in the contemplation stage (1.7%), 46 persons in the preparation stage (2.2%), 22 persons in the action stage (1.1%) and 1,905 persons in the maintenance stage (92.6%); in sample B, 37 persons in the pre-contemplation stage (4.3%), 3 persons in the contemplation stage (0.3%), 14 persons in the preparation stage (1.6%), 14 persons in the action stage (1.6%), and 799 persons in the maintenance stage (92.2%). Significant associations were found between going-out stages of behavior change and self-efficacy of going-out. Specifically, participants in the pre-contemplation stage reported significantly lower scores than those in the preparation, action, and maintenance stages. On the other hand, participants in the maintenance stage reported higher scores than those in the other stages. These findings support the utility of the staging framework for measuring motivational readiness on going-out behavior among community-dwelling elderly.
