Case 1
April is 38 years old, a teacher, and mother of two children ages 12 and 13. Two years ago, her husband quit his job and bought a car which he converted into a taxi. Initially, her husband drove the taxi during the day and another driver took over at night. However, the oil price hike and the increasing expense of car maintenance made him decide to extend his driving hours. For one year now, he has been working until 11 pm driving the taxi. This routine left April by herself after the children have gone to bed at 8 pm. She spent this time preparing her lesson plans, checking papers, and drinking alcohol.
At first, April's drinking was limited to a bottle of beer shared with her husband when he comes home. After three months, she found herself drinking a bottle of beer while waiting for her husband. Whenher husband came home, she still continued sharing the usual bottle with him. After another three months, she was already consuming an average of four bottles of beer a night. She knew her husband would disapprove so every night, after she has done her private drinking, she would hide the empty bottles under the sink. She would then shower, spray herself with cologne, and use a mouth wash to mask the tell-tale odor of beer in her breath and skin. When she heard her husband coming, she would get a bottle of beer from the refrigerator and open it. Thus, she would give the appearance of a wife who is eager to share with her husband her first and only bottle of beer for the night. April also never forgot to replenish the diminished number of beer bottles in the refrigerator.
This deception could have continued on and on except that one night, April's husband had diarrhea and decided to quit driving earlier than usual. He came home and found April sitting in front of four empty bottles of beer. After an initial denial, April admitted to her drinking habit. The couple quarreled loudly which caused the children to wake up and listen. The two children rushed to their mother and told her what a big hypocrite she was, warning them about the perils of alcohol when she was drinking too much. They also pointed out that she was not the respectable teacher that everyone in their school thought she was; instead she was a drunkard and a liar.
April felt shamed and contrite. She told her family that she knew she would have difficulty giving up alcohol because she liked it so much. However, she promised that she would give up drinking.
Case 2
Jun is 38 years old, unmarried, living alone, working as a computer systems analyst. He has always been considered a nerd and a loner since he was a child. However, in the past year, Jun has evolved into a different person.
It all started when his company hired Benjie as a computer programmer. Benjie introduced Jun to drinking alcohol. Jun discovered that under the influence of alcohol, he shed off his timidity and became gregarious. For the first time in his life, others considered him witty, funny, and interesting. As his drinking steadily increased, he became a happier person. At present, he has developed the habit of going with Benjie and his other drinking buddies to the bars located near their work place. Every week day, they each drank an average of 6-8 bottles of beer. On week ends, Jun usually drank 12 bottles of beer either with friends or by himself.
One day, Jun experienced severe abdominal pain. He consulted a physician who diagnosed him to have gastritis. The physician advised Jun to give up drinking. Jun thinks giving up alcohol is impossible because he thinks he is addicted to it.
Compare the two cases. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior, determine who will be more likely to give up alcohol.
1. Analyze April's case using the Transtheoretical Model.
2. Assume that Jun has given up alcohol. Using the Relapse Prevention Model, discuss how he can maintain the behavior change.