Readiness to Change Questionnaire – RCQ
Measures an individual's stage of readiness to change their alcohol consumption behavior.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Readiness to Change Questionnaire – RCQ was developed by Rollnick, S., Heather, N., Gold, R., & Hall, W. (1992). It is designed to measure Readiness to change alcohol consumption. The scale is intended for use with Adults / Excessive drinkers.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 12 items organized into 3 factors/subscales: Pre-contemplation, Contemplation, Action.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-contemplation | 1,5,10,12 | 4 |
| Contemplation | 3,4,8,9 | 4 |
| Action | 2,6,7,11 | 4 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: -2 = Strongly Disagree, -1 = Disagree, 0 = Unsure, 1 = Agree, 2 = Strongly Agree.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from -8 to 8. Interpretation guidelines:
- Subscale score range (The subscale with the highest score indicates the respondent's current stage of change): -8 – 8
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Pre-contemplation (alpha 0.82); Contemplation (alpha 0.86); Action (alpha 0.78).
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 3 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.