Using measures of readiness to change in individuals with schizophrenia

The literature suggests that substance abuse treatment for schizophrenia patients should consider both the patients' readiness for active treatment and matching phases of intervention with phases of the patient's acceptance of his or her dual problems. This study assessed the suitability of existing measures of "readiness to change" for use with individuals with schizophrenia. Outpatients (n = 39) with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and alcohol and/or drug dependency or abuse were given three measures to assess the stage of readiness to change. Results suggested that there was no agreement between stages defined by the interviewer and stages defined by self-report. This has implications for assessing readiness to change in terms of substance use in a population with schizophrenia.