The resolution solution: longitudinal examination of New Year's change attempts
- PMID: 2980864
- DOI: 10.1016/s0899-3289(88)80016-6
The resolution solution: longitudinal examination of New Year's change attempts
Abstract
This study prospectively tracked the self-change attempts of 200 New Year's resolvers over a 2-year period in order to more fully understand the coping determinants of maintenance and the natural history of lapses and relapses. Seventy-seven percent maintained their pledges for 1 week but only 19% for 2 years. Successful resolvers reported employing significantly more stimulus control, reinforcement, and willpower than the unsuccessful over the 2 years; social support and interpersonal strategies failed to predict success before 6 months but did so thereafter. Counterconditioning and fading were retrospectively nominated as the most efficacious coping strategies; paucity of willpower and failure of stimulus control were reported as the most hindering to maintenance. Fifty-three percent of the successful group experienced at least one slip, and the mean number of slips over the 2-year interval was 14. Slips were typically precipitated by a lack of personal control, excessive stress, and negative emotion.
Similar articles
-
Ringing in the new year: the change processes and reported outcomes of resolutions.Addict Behav. 1989;14(2):205-12. doi: 10.1016/0306-4603(89)90050-6. Addict Behav. 1989. PMID: 2728957
-
Distinct coping strategies differentially predict urge levels and lapses in a smoking cessation attempt.Addict Behav. 2013 Jun;38(6):2224-9. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2013.02.001. Epub 2013 Feb 16. Addict Behav. 2013. PMID: 23501139
-
[Motivations for cannabis cessation, coping and adaptation strategies, and perceived benefits: impact on cannabis use relapse and abstinence].Encephale. 2013 Dec;39(6):385-92. doi: 10.1016/j.encep.2013.03.008. Epub 2013 Aug 5. Encephale. 2013. PMID: 23928064 French.
-
Auld lang syne: success predictors, change processes, and self-reported outcomes of New Year's resolvers and nonresolvers.J Clin Psychol. 2002 Apr;58(4):397-405. doi: 10.1002/jclp.1151. J Clin Psychol. 2002. PMID: 11920693
-
Motivational interviewing and smoking behaviors: a critical appraisal and literature review of selected cessation initiatives.Psychol Rep. 2012 Apr;110(2):445-60. doi: 10.2466/02.06.13.18.PR0.110.2.445-460. Psychol Rep. 2012. PMID: 22662398 Review.
Cited by
-
Unbreakable Resolutions as an Effective Tactic for Self-Control: Lessons From Mahatma Gandhi and a 19th-Century Prussian Prince.Front Psychol. 2021 Dec 10;12:771141. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.771141. eCollection 2021. Front Psychol. 2021. PMID: 34955988 Free PMC article.
-
A large-scale experiment on New Year's resolutions: Approach-oriented goals are more successful than avoidance-oriented goals.PLoS One. 2020 Dec 9;15(12):e0234097. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234097. eCollection 2020. PLoS One. 2020. PMID: 33296385 Free PMC article.
-
General Public's Information-Seeking Patterns of Topics Related to Obesity: Google Trends Analysis.JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2020 Aug 11;6(3):e20923. doi: 10.2196/20923. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2020. PMID: 32633725 Free PMC article.
-
Recalling and Intending to Enact Health Recommendations: Optimal Number of Prescribed Behaviors in Multibehavior Messages.Clin Psychol Sci. 2017 Sep;5(5):858-865. doi: 10.1177/2167702617704453. Epub 2017 Jun 11. Clin Psychol Sci. 2017. PMID: 32292643 Free PMC article.
-
The proximal experience of gratitude.PLoS One. 2017 Jul 7;12(7):e0179123. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0179123. eCollection 2017. PLoS One. 2017. PMID: 28686593 Free PMC article.
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Medical