University of Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale for Alcohol (URICA-A)

Description

The University of Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale (URICA) – Alcohol Version is a psychometric tool designed to assess an individual’s stage of readiness for change concerning alcohol use. This scale employs the Transtheoretical Model, which posits that behavior change is a process rather than an event and involves various stages including Precontemplation, Contemplation, Action, and Maintenance. With its multiple-item format, the URICA provides insights into how individuals perceive their need for change, their motivation levels, and their current efforts toward altering their drinking behavior. This scale can facilitate effective treatment planning by helping practitioners understand where a client may be in their journey toward recovery.

Authors and Contact Email

Information not available.

Purpose

The purpose of the URICA is to assess an individual’s readiness to change their alcohol-related behaviors and to provide a measure of motivation that can guide therapeutic interventions.

Test Year

Information not available.

Administration Method and Scoring

The URICA can be administered as a self-report questionnaire where respondents indicate their level of agreement with a series of statements on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). Scoring entails summing responses within subscales corresponding to the stages of change.

Reliability and Validity

Reliability coefficients for the URICA scales have been reported ranging from .68 to .85 across various studies, indicating good internal consistency. The instrument is validated for both clinical and research settings, demonstrating its effectiveness in measuring stages of change in various populations.

Factors and Subscales

The URICA comprises four main subscales aligned with the stages of change:
– Precontemplation
– Contemplation
– Action
– Maintenance

Keywords

Readiness to change, alcohol use, motivation, Transtheoretical Model, psychometric scale, behavior change.

Items of University of Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale (URICA) – Alcohol Version

**28 Item Version:**
1. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have any problems that need changing.
2. I think I might be ready for some self-improvement.
3. I am doing something about the problems that had been bothering me.
4. I’m not the problem one. It doesn’t make much sense for me to consider changing.
5. It worries me that I might slip back on a problem I have already changed, so I am looking for help.
6. I am finally doing some work on my problem.
7. I’ve been thinking that I might want to change something about myself.
8. At times my problem is difficult, but I’m working on it.
9. Trying to change is pretty much a waste of time for me because the problem doesn’t have to do with me.
10. I’m hoping that I will be able to understand myself better.
11. I guess I have faults, but there’s nothing that I really need to change.
12. I am really working hard to change.
13. I have a problem and I really think I should work on it.
14. I’m not following through with what I had already changed as well as I had hoped, and I want to prevent a relapse of the problem.
15. Even though I’m not always successful in changing, I am at least working on my problem.
16. I thought once I had resolved the problem I would be free of it, but sometimes I still find myself struggling with it.
17. I wish I had more ideas on how to solve my problem.
18. Maybe someone or something will be able to help me.
19. I may need a boost right now to help me maintain the changes I’ve already made.
20. I may be part of the problem, but I don’t really think I am.
21. I hope that someone will have some good advice for me.
22. Anyone can talk about changing; I’m actually doing something about it.
23. All this talk about psychology is boring. Why can’t people just forget about their problems?
24. I’m struggling to prevent myself from having a relapse of my problem.
25. It is frustrating, but I feel I might be having a recurrence of a problem I thought I had resolved.
26. I have worries, but so does the next guy. Why spend time thinking about them?
27. I am actively working on my problem.
28. After all I had done to try and change my problem, every now and then it comes back to haunt me.

**24 Item Version:**
1. I’m not the problem one. It doesn’t make much sense for me to consider changing.
2. I am finally doing some work on my problem.
3. I’ve been thinking that I might want to change something about myself.
4. At times my problem is difficult, but I’m working on it.
5. Trying to change is pretty much a waste of time for me because the problem doesn’t have to do with me.
6. I’m hoping that I will be able to understand myself better.
7. I guess I have faults, but there’s nothing that I really need to change.
8. I am really working hard to change.
9. I have a problem and I really think I should work on it.
10. I’m not following through with what I had already changed as well as I had hoped, and I want to prevent a relapse of the problem.
11. Even though I’m not always successful in changing, I am at least working on my problem.
12. I thought once I had resolved the problem I would be free of it, but sometimes I still find myself struggling with it.
13. I wish I had more ideas on how to solve my problem.
14. Maybe someone or something will be able to help me.
15. I may need a boost right now to help me maintain the changes I’ve already made.
16. I may be part of the problem, but I don’t really think I am.
17. I hope that someone will have some good advice for me.
18. Anyone can talk about changing; I’m actually doing something about it.
19. All this talk about psychology is boring. Why can’t people just forget about their problems?
20. I’m struggling to prevent myself from having a relapse of my problem.
21. It is frustrating, but I feel I might be having a recurrence of a problem I thought I had resolved.
22. I have worries, but so does the next guy. Why spend time thinking about them?
23. I am actively working on my problem.
24. After all I had done to try and change my problem, every now and then it comes back to haunt me.

**Reduced Drinking Version (12 Item Version):**
1. It doesn’t make much sense for me to consider changing my drinking.
2. I’ve been thinking that I might want to change something about my drinking.
3. At times my drinking causes problems and I’m determined to change.
4. It is frustrating, but I feel I might be having a recurrence of a drinking problem I thought I had resolved.
5. Trying to change my drinking is pretty much a waste of time for me.
6. I guess I have faults, but there’s nothing that I really need to change about my drinking.
7. I thought once I had resolved my problem drinking I would be free of it, but sometimes I still find myself struggling with it.
8. I may have a problem with drinking and I think I should work on it.
9. I am really working hard to change my drinking.
10. I hope that someone will have some good advice for me about my drinking.
11. Anyone can talk about changing the way they drink; I’m actually going to do something about it.
12. After all I had done to try and change my problem drinking, every now and then it comes back to haunt me.

References

http://habitslab.umbc.edu/urica/https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/university-of-rhode-island-change-assessment-scale-urica-alcohol-version/
DiClemente, C.C. and Hughes, S.O. (1990). Stages of change profiles in outpatient alcoholism treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse, 2, 217-235.
Carbonari, J.P., DiClemente, C.C., and Zweben, A. (1994, November). A readiness to change measure. Paper presented at the meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, San Diego, CA.
Carney, M.M. and Kivlahan, D.R. (1995). Motivational subtypes among veterans seeking substance abuse treatment: Profiles based on stages of change. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 9, 135-142.
Levesque, D.A., Gelles, R.J., & Velicer, W.F. (2000). Development and validation of a stages of change measure for men in batterer treatment. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 24(2), 175-199.
Carbonari, J.P. and DiClemente, C.C. (2000). Using theoretical model profiles to differentiate levels of alcohol abstinence success. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 810-817.
Grencavage, L.M. (2001). Demand-withdraw couple interaction, disease-model beliefs, and readiness to change problem drinking. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, Vol 61(8-B), Feb 2001. pp. 4406.
Pantalon, M.V., Nich, C., Frankforter, T., and Carroll, K.M. (2002). The URICA as a measure of motivation to change among treatment-seeking individuals with concurrent alcohol and cocaine problems. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 16, 299-307.
DiClemente, C.C., Schlundt, D., & Gemmell, L. (2004). Readiness and stages of change in addiction treatment. American Journal on Addictions, 13(2), 103-119.
DiClemente, C.C. (2005). Conceptual models and applied research: The ongoing contribution of the Transtheoretical Model. Journal of Addictions Nursing, 16(1&2), 5-12.
Soderstrom, C.A., DiClemente, C.C., Dischinger, P.C., Hebel, J.R., McDuff, D.R., Auman, K.M., Kufera, J.A. (2007). A Controlled Trial of Brief Intervention Versus Brief Advice for At-Risk Drinking Trauma Center Patients. Journal of Trauma-Injury Infection & Critical Care, 62(5), 1102-1112.