Developing Tailored Intervention Technology For Alternative Transportation

Single Occupancy Vehicle (SOV) transportation is a key contributor to climate change and numerous other environmental impacts. Alternative Transportation (AT) or Sustainable Transportation (ST), i.e. commuting by means other than SOV, represents one important step toward slowing climate change, improving communities and enhancing health. Communication and behavior change approaches can play a key role in encouraging commuters to choose more sustainable modes of transportation. The Transtheoretical model of behavior change (TTM) is a useful framework for understanding Transportation Behavior and ways to encourage sustainable alternatives. Few systematic applications of TTM to sustainable behavior exist to date. This report explains assessments and interventions designed to encourage Alternative Transportation. While the TTM Stages of Change Model is well established and world-renowned in the field of health promotion and related areas, very limited systematic work has been done related to transportation behavior. To develop tailored interventions, key TTM measures had to be developed: Stages for ST, Decisional Balance, and Self-Efficacy. These measures then became the cornerstone of TTM based interventions. Short and reliable measures for decisional balance and self-efficacy, and their associations with Stage of Change were examined. University student volunteers (n=588) participated in this cross-sectional study. Through measurement development analyses using split-half cross validation procedures, the authors developed two internally consistent measures: a 20-item Decisional Balance measure with four hierarchically organized scales (Pros, Specific Pros, Cons, and Climate Change Doubt) and an 8-item Self-Efficacy scale. Both Decisional Balance and Self-Efficacy confirmed predicted associations with Stage of Change, supporting the application of TTM to Sustainable Transportation.

• Record URL:
  • http://131.128.106.203/uritc-org/media/finalreportspdf/0003027.pdf
• 
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Rhode Island, Kingston

  Department of Communication Studies
  304 Davis Hall
  Kingston, RI  United States  02881

  University of Rhode Island Transportation Center

  University of Rhode Island
  75 Lower College Road
  Kingston, RI  United States  02881

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Mundorf, Norbert
  • Redding, Colleen
  • Paiva, Andrea
  • Prochaska, James O
  • Brick, Leslie
• Publication Date: 2014

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 46p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Commuting; Decision making; Mode choice; Sustainable transportation; Travel behavior
• Identifier Terms: Transtheoretical Model of behavior change
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01516607
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: URITC PROJECT NO. 500- 2201- 0000- 0003027
• Files: UTC, TRIS, RITA, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Feb 28 2014 1:32PM