Some chain-growth polymerizations include chain transfer steps, in which another atom (often hydrogen) is transferred from a molecule in the system to the polymer radical. The original polymer chain is terminated and a new one is initiated. The kinetic chain is not terminated if the new radical can add monomer. However the degree of polymerization is reduced without affecting the rate of polymerization (which depends on kinetic chain length), since two (or more) macromolecules are formed instead of one. For the case of termination by disproportionation, the degree of polymerization becomes:
where R is the rate of transfer. The greater R is, the shorter the final macromolecule.