Exploring the utility of the stages of change model to promote natural shorelines

Abstract

Increased residential development around lakeshores in the Upper Midwest is associated with reduced wildlife habitat, lower biodiversity, and degraded water quality. Subsequently, it is important to identify strategies that encourage property owners to adopt more natural shorelines. One potential framework for understanding property owners’ attitudes and intent toward adopting natural shorelines is the Stages of Change Model (SCM). The model suggests people will be differentially ready to adopt a new behavior based on their respective knowledge, beliefs, and motivations and will move through a progression of stages before adopting a new practice. The specific stages include precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and relapse. The purpose of this study was to examine whether stages specified by the SCM may be useful in identifying lakeshore property owners’ attitudes and intent toward adopting more natural shorelines. Surveys were mailed to 212 property owners on 2 lakes in northwest Wisconsin; 165 were returned for a 78% response rate. Sixteen measures representing the 6 stages of change were created building on scales previously used in health-related behavior change research. Exploratory factor analysis indicated the scales were correlated strongly with, and reliable measures of, 5 underlying factors representing the different stages of change. Results provide preliminary support that the SCM may represent a useful framework for understanding property owners’ propensities toward adopting more natural shorelines. The authors suggest additional research will improve the external reliability of the SCM as adopted in an environmental context.