Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Maintenance Phase of the Transtheoretical Model of Change

  • Reference work entry
Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine

  • 463 Accesses

Definition

The Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM) is characterized by six ‘stages of change’ (precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination) that individuals move through when attempting to change problematic health behavior, such as smoking (Shumaker, Ockene, & Riekert, 2009).

Individuals reach the ‘maintenance’ phase of the TTM when the positive health behavior, for example, complete abstinence from smoking, is sustained for a period of 6 months or longer (Glanz, Rimer, & Viswanath, 2008). Self-efficacy (or situation-specific confidence) plays an integral role in this stage. As an individual’s ability to abstain from the risky health behavior increases, so too does their ability to avoid relapse. The risk of relapse is eliminated once an individual reaches the final ‘termination’ stage of the TTM, in which the positive health behavior has become automatic (Shumaker et al., 2009).

Cross-References

Behavior Change

Self-Efficacy

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 1,199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References and Readings

  • Glanz, K., Rimer, B. K., & Viswanath, K. (Eds.). (2008). Health behavior and health education: Theory, research, and practice (4th ed.). San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, W. R., & Heather, N. (Eds.). (1998). Treating addictive behaviors (2nd ed.). New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prochaska, J. O., & Norcross, J. C. (2010). Systems of psychotherapy: A transtheoretical analysis (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shumaker, S. A., Ockene, J. K., & Riekert, K. A. (Eds.). (2009). The handbook of health behavior change (3rd ed.). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health & Health Systems, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada

    Seema Mutti

Authors
  1. Seema Mutti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Seema Mutti .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioral Medicine Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc D. Gellman

  2. Cardiovascular Safety, Quintiles, Durham, NC, USA

    J. Rick Turner

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media, New York

About this entry

Cite this entry

Mutti, S. (2013). Maintenance Phase of the Transtheoretical Model of Change. In: Gellman, M.D., Turner, J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_1149

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_1149

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1004-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1005-9

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation