How Ready Are Young Adults to Participate in Community Service? An Application of the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change

2021 ◽  
pp. 089011712110347
Author(s):  
Natalie Fenn ◽  
Cheyenne Reyes ◽  
Kathleen Monahan ◽  
Mark L. Robbins
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Behavior Change ◽  
Community Service ◽  
Transtheoretical Model ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Level Of Education ◽  
Service Readiness ◽  
Parental Level

Purpose: Engaging in community service, or unpaid work intended to help people in a community, is generally associated with greater overall well-being. However, the process of beginning and maintaining community service engagement has been sparsely examined. The current study applied the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of behavior change to understanding community service readiness among young adults. Design: Cross-sectional design using an online survey. Setting: Participants were undergraduate students recruited at a mid-sized Northeastern US university in Spring 2018. Sample: Participants ( N = 314) had a mean age of 20.36 years ( SD = 3.69), were primarily White (78%), female (72%), and from moderately high socioeconomic backgrounds (as measured by parental level of education). Measures: Socio-demographics including age, gender, race-ethnicity, and parental level of education; readiness, pros, cons, and self-efficacy for community service; civic engagement behavior; well-being. Analysis: Participants were classified into very low ( n = 62), low ( n = 59), moderate ( n = 92), high ( n = 46), and very high ( n = 55) readiness for community service groupings. A MANOVA was conducted to assess relationships between groupings and community service TTM constructs, civic engagement, and well-being. Results: There were significant differences between readiness groupings on all main outcome variables, F(20, 1012) = 10.34, p < .001; Wilks’ Λ = 0.54, η2 = .14. Post-hoc Games-Howell tests showed that those exhibiting higher levels of readiness reported fewer cons, greater pros, higher self-efficacy, more overall civic engagement, and greater well-being compared to lower readiness individuals. Conclusion: Consistent with previous TTM applications, self-efficacy and the importance of pros increased across readiness groupings while the importance of cons decreased. Study findings may be used to inform readiness-tailored interventional work for increasing community service. This area of study would benefit from longitudinal research examining community service readiness beyond the college environment.

Civic Engagement and Well-Being: Examining a Mediational Model Across Gender

2021 ◽  
pp. 089011712110012
Author(s):  
Natalie Fenn ◽  
Mark L. Robbins ◽  
Lisa Harlow ◽  
Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Engagement Behavior

Purpose: The relationship between civic engagement and mental health is generally positive, yet particularly complex among those from low socioeconomic backgrounds and women. The current study examined pathways between civic engagement and well-being to clarify its merit as a health promotional tool for young adults. Design: Cross-sectional design using an online questionnaire. Setting: Participants were recruited at a mid-sized Northeastern US university. Sample: Participants ( N = 438) were primarily White (78%) and female (72%). Measures: Demographics, socioeconomic status, civic engagement behavior, well-being, meaning in life, self-efficacy toward service, and social support. Analysis: Structural equation modeling to test an a priori model of civic engagement behavior and well-being in young adults. Models were conducted across men and women, covarying for social support. Results: The full effects model fit well, demonstrating positive relationships between civic engagement and well-being for both men and women with mediation by service self-efficacy and meaning in life (χ2(2) = 1.05, p = .59; CFI = 1.0; RMSEA = .00, 90% CI [.00, .07]; R 2 = .46). Type of engagement (civic, electoral, sociopolitical) showed mixed results in relation to well-being. Conclusion: Civic activity was associated with well-being when mediated by service self-efficacy while sociopolitical voice correlated to stronger well-being when mediated by meaning in life. Future longitudinal studies should be conducted among more socioeconomically diverse populations to verify the role of civic engagement in health promotion.

scholarly journals Self-Efficacy and Clinical Characteristics in Casual Gamers Compared to Excessive Gaming Users and Non-Gamers in Young Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 2720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sun Ju Chung ◽  
Joon Hwan Jang ◽  
Ji Yoon Lee ◽  
Aruem Choi ◽  
Bo Mi Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Clinical Characteristics ◽  
Internet Gaming Disorder ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Self ◽  
Behavioral Inhibition System ◽  
Addictive Behaviors ◽  
Internet Gaming ◽  
Excessive Gaming

This study investigated differences in the self-efficacy and clinical characteristics which were found relevant to addictive behaviors in young adults according to time spent gaming. To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore self-efficacy in casual gamers relative to patients with internet gaming disorder (IGD) and non-gamers. In total, 158 young adults participated in this study and were divided into three groups: excessive gamers, who were diagnosed with IGD based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder-fifth edition (DSM-5, n = 71); casual gamers, who played games regularly but did not meet the criteria for IGD (n = 37); and non-gamers/controls, who did not engage in gaming (n = 50). All participants completed self-administered questionnaires, including measures of self-efficacy and clinical features such as the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Behavioral Activation/Inhibition Systems, aggression, and psychosocial well-being. There were significant differences in the self-efficacy according to the extent of gaming (excessive gamers < casual gamers < non-gamers). In addition, aggression, impulsivity, depression, anxiety, level of stress, and behavioral inhibition system scores were significantly higher in excessive gamers than in casual gamers and non-gamers. These findings showed that individuals who spend more time playing games tend to have lower self-efficacy. Our study suggests that self-efficacy may protect against or constitute a risk of excessive gaming, particularly among casual gamers. It is necessary to pay attention to enhancing psychological well-being through self-efficacy to prevent addiction in young adult gamers.

scholarly journals Assessing Perceived Empathic and Social Self-Efficacy Across Countries

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Di Giunta ◽  
Nancy Eisenberg ◽  
Anne Kupfer ◽  
Patrizia Steca ◽  
Carlo Tramontano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Incremental Validity ◽  
Social Self ◽  
Factorial Structure ◽  
Partial Invariance

The Perceived Empathic Self-Efficacy Scale (PESE) and the Perceived Social Self-Efficacy Scale (PSSE) were developed to assess, respectively, individuals’ self-efficacy beliefs regarding both empathic responding to others’ needs or feelings and managing interpersonal relationships. In this study of young adults, a unidimensional factorial structure of both scales was found in Italy, the United States, and Bolivia. Complete invariance at the metric level and partial invariance at the scalar level were found across gender and countries for both scales. The construct and incremental validity of both PESE and PSSE were further examined in a different sample of Italian young adults. Patterns of association of the PESE or PSSE with self-esteem, psychological well-being, and the use of adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies were found, often over and beyond their associations with empathy or extraversion, respectively.

scholarly journals A structural model of well-being, spontaneity and self-efficacy: Italian validation between adolescents and young adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucia Ronconi ◽  
Noemi Giannerini ◽  
Ines Testoni ◽  
Maria Zulian ◽  
Maria Silvia Guglielmin
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Adolescents And Young Adults ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Separation From Parents

Abstract Introduction: The passage from adolescence to young adulthood introduces many challenges and chances aimed at promoting independence, financial self-sufficiency, assumption of responsibilities and separation from parents. Literature shows that in the continuum between these two phases of life, many factors intervene, producing significant differentiations. Methods: This study considered three dimensions - well-being, measured through the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure (CORE-OM); spontaneity, measured through the Spontaneity Assessment Inventory-Revised (SAI-R); and self-efficacy, measured through the General Self-Efficacy scale (GSE). The study involved two groups of Italian participants: 495 adolescents, aged between 13 and 19 years, selected at a high school; and 368 young adults, aged between 18 and 30 years, recruited by snowball sampling. Results: Results of confirmatory factor analysis for each instrument in each group indicate the validity of the three instruments for both age groups. No significant differences were found between adolescents and young adults on total or subtotal scores of the CORE-OM, except for the risk factor. Conversely, the mean scores obtained with SAI-R and GSE were very different between adolescents and young adults. Conclusions: The results of path analysis show a significant mediation of spontaneity in the link between self-efficacy and all specific psychological distress domains for adolescents. Instead, there is a significant mediation of spontaneity between self-efficacy and all specific psychological distress domains except the risk domain for young adults.

National Service as an Institutional Pathway to Flourishing

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Faust ◽  
Constance Flanagan
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
National Service ◽  
Service Programs

This chapter emphasizes relational and collective dimensions of well-being and the national service programs that foster them. We begin with a discussion of social institutions that bridge to civic settings and civic engagement for young adults. Following that, we discuss national service as an institution that offers a pathway for flourishing, particularly for those who do not have access to civic settings via other institutions. We describe features of programs and current research and evaluation, highlighting those that reference dimensions of relational well-being. Finally, we discuss areas for future research and implications for practice centered on the relational and collective well-being of diverse young adults in civic and national service settings.

Transtheoretical Model and Stages of Change in Health and Risk Messaging

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth M. Noar
Keyword(s):  
Health Behavior ◽  
Behavior Change ◽  
Stages Of Change ◽  
Transtheoretical Model ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Health Behavior Change ◽  
Decisional Balance ◽  
Message Design ◽  
Tailored Interventions ◽  
Theoretical Approaches

The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) is an integrative health behavior change theory that describes the process of how people change their behavior. The central organizing construct in the theory is stages of change, which are five distinct stages of readiness to change behavior, ranging from not ready to change (precontemplation), thinking about change (contemplation), preparing to change (preparation), changing (action), and maintaining the change (maintenance). Movement through the stages may be nonlinear, and cycling and recycling through the stages is viewed as a natural part of the change process. Other model constructs explain what drives individuals forward through the stages of change. Decisional balance involves a weighing of pros and cons of changing behavior, while self-efficacy involves situation-specific confidence that one can change. Increases in pros, deceases in cons, and increases in self-efficacy propel people forward through the stages of change. The processes of change are experiential and behavioral strategies that people use to change their behavior. In early stages of change, people use experiential strategies while they use behaviorally oriented strategies in later stages of change. The TTM holds significant implications for message design. Most notably, messages should be targeted and tailored to stages of change, and where possible, to other model variables as well. Studies indicate that the TTM has been successfully applied to health communication campaigns, and to a larger extent, to computer-tailored interventions to change health behavior. Meta-analyses indicate that scores of computer-tailored interventions have been efficacious, including many based upon the TTM and stages of change. New applications of the model include a focus on novel health behaviors, multiple behavior change, and advancing an understanding of message design in the context of the TTM in combination with other theoretical approaches.

scholarly journals Self-Efficacy and Civic Engagement in Undergraduate Students: Empirical Results of a Service Learning Program in Thailand

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prasart Nuangchalerm
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
General Education ◽  
Community Service ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Civic Education ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Learning Program ◽  
First Semester

The environmental and cultural problems in Thailand are large and widely distributed. To address these problems, public awareness must be raised and all sectors of society must assume their civic responsibilities to assist in sustaining both our environment and the local culture. This study sought to engage undergraduate students in civic engagement projects in order to enhance their self-efficacy to address such problems through service learning experiences. One hundred and ninety six undergraduate students participated in a general education course on civic education during the first semester of 2012. This course provided students the opportunity to explore theoretical aspects of citizenship as well as the opportunity to practice community service. Such community service allows the students to experience and learn how the community members live. Data was collected by a variety of methods; self-efficacy questionnaires, student reports, journal writing and reflections, and interviews. Findings revealed that the students had high levels of self-efficacy and increased their levels of civic engagement through the community service conducted.

scholarly journals Predictors of Vaping Behavior Change in Young Adults Using the Transtheoretical Model: A Multi-Country Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 1179173X2098867
Author(s):  
Mary Martinasek ◽  
Nauris Tamulevicius ◽  
Linda Gibson-Young ◽  
Justin McDaniel ◽  
Sarah J Moss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Behavior Change ◽  
Stages Of Change ◽  
Transtheoretical Model ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
Older Students ◽  
Addictive Substance ◽  
Maintenance Stage ◽  
Country Study

Electronic nicotine products remain popular among college students. These products contain heavy metals, carcinogens and the addictive substance nicotine. By understanding where students are in their behavior change can help to determine and focus messages and campaigns. The aim of this study was to assess predictors of the Transtheoretical model in college-aged vaping. This study consisted of an online/Ipad delivery of a voluntary survey to 1249 young adults/college students at 5 universities (International and within the U.S.). Data was analyzed using Stata. Regression analysis was performed to assess predictors of the stages in the Transtheoretical Model of behavior change. Our study found that women tended to be further along in the stages of change as compared to their male counterparts. Additionally, the older students were more likely to be in maintenance stage as compared to the younger students. The students who vaped longer tended to not have advance into any of the stages of change besides precontemplation. Understanding where students are in the stages of change can help to inform behavioral message campaigns enabling more focused targeting of messages and efforts to reduce consumption. Electronic nicotine products are highly prevalent on college campuses, both nationally and internationally. The nicotine is addictive and may result in less of a desire or ability to quit as young adults age.

scholarly journals Depression, anxiety, and loneliness among adolescents and young adults with IBD in the UK: the role of disease severity, age of onset, and embarrassment of the condition

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Qualter ◽  
Alison Rouncefield-Swales ◽  
Lucy Bray ◽  
Lucy Blake ◽  
Steven Allen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Abdominal Pain ◽  
Disease Severity ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Friendship Quality ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Adolescents And Young Adults ◽  
Social Self ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Purpose Adolescents and young adults (AYA) with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) report higher depressive symptoms and anxiety compared to healthy controls, with disease severity and abdominal pain being important factors. In the current study, building on what young people had told us in our previous work, we examined whether embarrassment of the condition, social self-efficacy, and friendship quality mediated the relationship between abdominal pain and disease severity, and mental health/well-being. We also included loneliness as a component of well-being. Methods Data on depression, anxiety, loneliness, friendship quality, social self-efficacy, and disease embarrassment were collected from 130 AYA with IBD ages 14–25 years; data on disease severity and abdominal pain were taken from their medical records. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the relationships between the variables. Results Using SEM, we established that higher IBD disease activity negatively impacted how AYA felt about their friendships and how embarrassed they were about their condition; embarrassment then influenced reports of mental health, including loneliness. Abdominal pain, disease onset, and social self-efficacy directly predicted internalising problems. Conclusion In this sample of 14–25-year-old patients with IBD, specifics about the disease (severity and pain) predicted poorer mental health, suggesting discussion of mental health should be part of the clinical dialogue between patient and consultant. In addition, embarrassment about their condition increased depression, anxiety, and loneliness, mediating the relationship between disease severity and well-being. Thus, it is important to consider how perceived stigma affects those with chronic illness, and those issues should be explored in clinic.

Commitment to Health Theory

2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia W. Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Behavior Change ◽  
Stages Of Change ◽  
Transtheoretical Model ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Optimal Level ◽  
Continuous Variable ◽  
Middle Level ◽  
Change Commitment ◽  
The Individual ◽  
High Level

This article introduces commitment to health as a middle-range. Commitment to health (CTH) is derived from Prochaska and DiClemente’s (1983) Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change. CTH theory is designed to predict the likelihood of behavior change between the action and maintenance stages of change. Commitment is defined as a freely chosen internal resolve to perform health behaviors, even when encumbered or inconvenienced by difficulties. Health is defined as the optimal level of well-being. Commitment is an independent continuous variable, but it can be categorized into three time-oriented categories: (1) low-level, (2) middle-level, and (3) high-level commitment. The higher the level of commitment, the more likely the individual will adopt long-term behavior change. This article presents the definitions, assumptions, and relational statements of CTH.

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