Florida International University Wheel of Change Discussion

Please reply to the following 3 posts with at least 70 words per each reply.

Post 1:
Wheel of Change

Change has a strong relation to motivation. New interventions have been developed by researchers in order to help clients to modify their maladaptive and unhealthy behaviors. Change is not a result, is a process that takes time and can happen in the natural setting. Changes can include anything that the person wants to modify. The Transtheoretical Model is a model use to identify the different stages of change. There are six stages in the model: Precontemplation, Contemplation, Preparation, Action, Maintenance, and Recurrence.

During the first step, Precontemplation, individuals do not want a change; they may not be aware of the existence of a problem or maladaptive behavior. During this stage, motivation levels are low, and the individuals may experience some sense of denial.

Individuals start to realize that a problem may exist and that it requires a change during the Contemplation stage.

The third stage is known as Preparation. During this stage, the individual puts on a balance, the pros, and cons of change. Also, they start to make plans to change and the commitment to a change gets stronger.

During the Action stage, people choose an approach to initiate the change and they start to work in order to achieve the change. It may include changes in their environment and lifestyles. Individuals have to deal with the effects of the changes and new behaviors. Additionally, individuals look at their old behaviors to compare them with the new ones.

Individuals focus on maintaining the changes that they made, and they try not to go back to the old behavior during the Maintenance stage.
Recurrence is the stage were some behaviors come back to the individual’s life after the change was made.

Post 2:
One of the most important points touched in the motivation article is that motivation is key to change as it brings the probability that an individual will endure and stick to change. Motivation is also multidimensional, meaning that it does not consist of one element but of many, like internal desires, external pressure, goals, and perception of the situation. Motivation is also fluctuating. It may decrease with as doubts surface and increase as goals are envisioned more clearly. Another important factor of motivation is that it is influenced by social interactions. The individual’s social relationships with family, friends, and the community can affect motivation as well. Motivation can also be modified or influenced by factors like distress levels, critical life events (like pregnancy, death, losing a job), cognitive evaluation, recognizing the hurt it has inflicted on others, and positive and negative external influences, like having supportive friends, family, rewards or coercive stimulation.

Motivation is also influenced by the clinician’s style. The way the clinician interacts with the client has a meaningful impact on the treatment outcome and process. Studies found that establishing a supporting relationship and good interpersonal skills were more important than professional experience. In a way the most important attributes are humanistic values, warmth, friendliness, genuineness, respect, affirmation, and empathy. A client centered, empathetic approach using listening and gentle persuasion is more successful than a confrontational approach. Lastly, another important point is that the clinician’s job is to promote and increase motivation. Change is responsibility of the client, the clinician’s task is to enhance motivation by assisting clients to recognize problem behaviors, to regard positive change to be in their best interest, to feel competent to change, to develop a plan for change, to begin taking action, and to continue using strategies that discourage a return to the problem behavior.

Post 3:
Many strategies can be used to help individuals move through the stages when wanting to change their behaviors. Individual can move fast during this stages when changing different patterns of their situations, for some, the process to stop their substance abuse it’s harder. The are five stages for the Wheel of Change model to take process.

The first stage of this model is ” Precontemplation” in which individuals with substance abuse problems do not consider to change their behaviors or addictions. Individuals in this stage may not be willing to accept they have an addiction problem because they have not experience difficult situations yet.

The second stage is ” Contemplation”, during this stage individuals began to realize how these substances may be starting to affect their daily lives and start to contemplate cutting back or stopping the use of substances. Some stay in this stage wanting to change, but not really taking action for a long period of time.

“Preparation” follows next, during this stage, the individual seems more committed to change and start making better decisions for her.

Please reply to the following 2 posts with at least 200 words minimum per each reply.

Post 1:
• What are the causes and consequences of low birthweight?

Causes of LBW:

-Low Birth weight (LBW) – A body weight at birth of less than 5 ½ pounds.

-Baby with born small for gestational age (SGA). Maternal drug use or fetal illness are the most common cause of SGA.

-Psychoactive drug slows fetal growth, with tobacco implicated in 25 % of LBW worldwide (Berger, 2016).

-Malnutrients in women who begin pregnancy is another common reason for slow fetal growth.

-Pollution: Mother who live in poor neighborhood with high pollution is another factor for LBW.

-Father behavior during the prenatal period affect the mothers mind (not her body) and It increase the incident of low birth weight in the fetus.

Consequences of LBW:

Newborns: premature babies experience cognitive difficulties, visual, and hearing impairments.

Middle childhood: Children have many neurological problems including lower IQ, smaller brain volume, and behaviors difficult.

Adults: High blood pressure, diabetes, and psychological problems.

• What is the immigration paradox?

The surprising, paradoxical fact that low-SES immigrant women tend to have fewer birth complications than native-born peers with higher incomes (Berger, 2016).

• Why might the rate of low birthweight in the United States be so high compared to other countries?

Many scientists have suggested hypothesis to explain the rate of low birth weight in U.S. be so high compared to other countries. One possibility is assisted reproduction which produces more twins in the U.S than other countries. Also, for naturally conceived babies as well rose the LBW rates. Nutrition is a second possibility. Hungries mothers have smaller babies. Women who begin pregnancy underweight, who eat poorly during pregnancy, or who gain less than 3 pounds per month in the last six months more often have underweight infants. Unfortunately, other risk factor possibility for low birth weight is drug use. Most U.S. women giving birth in the first decade of the twenty-first century are in the cohort that experienced rising drug use when they are younger, and they may still suffer the effects.

Post 2:
Causes of LBW babies

Low birth weight (LBW) babies are those who at birth, weight less than 2500 grams, or which is equal five and a half pounds. There are several causes of low birth weight. In multiple pregnancies, the babies gain weight more slowly than in pregnancies of only one baby. Also, some fetuses gain weight slowly than others and those are called small for gestational age (SGA). Maternal or fetal illness can cause SGA, but statistics say that the most common cause is maternal drug use. All Psychoactive drugs cause slow fetal growth, as well as tobacco use. Tobacco causes 25 percent of all low-birth-weight worldwide (Berger, 2016). Malnutrition is a cause as well for slow fetal growth, women who start the pregnancy underweight often have underweight babies. Sometimes many risks as underweight, undereating, underage, and smoking occur together. Besides, mothers who live in poor neighborhoods where pollution is high tend to give birth to underweight infants. All these causes mentioned above talk about pregnant women, but fathers also are responsible for some causes of underweight. Relationships between fathers and mothers may indirectly affect the development of the fetus. For instance, since the mother’s behavior affects the development of the fetus, everyone who interacts with her is responsible for the child’s development, including the father.

Consequences of LBW babies

Life is uncertain for the smallest newborns. The United States has more baby mortality than other nations because there is more extremely low birth baby here than in other countries. Low birth babies experience cognitive difficulties as well as visual and hearing impairments. High-risk newborns become children who cry more, pay less attention, disobey more, and experience language delays. As adolescents, kids that were born underweight may experience neurological problems in middle school, including smaller brain volumes and lower IQs.

immigration paradox

The immigration paradox is the belief that babies born of immigrants are going to be underweight because of the low socioeconomic status of the immigrants, but paradoxically, babies born to immigrants are generally healthier than newborns of U.S. born women of the same gene pool (Berger, 2016).

United States

The rate of LBW in the U.S.A may be so high because of nutrition. Hungry mothers produce smaller babies. Another reason may be drug use. There are more and more high school girls getting pregnant and they are more sensitive to tobacco.