Hope and self-determination of young adults in the workplace

This longitudinal field study tested positive reciprocal longitudinal interactions between components of hope theory and the satisfaction of basic psychological needs in the work environment during 3 years of vocational training. The three annual questionnaire surveys of 414 trainees in young adulthood were analyzed with latent autoregressive cross-lagged models. The tested longitudinal models provided support for a positive reciprocal feedback process between hope and the satisfaction of the need for competency. The 1 year lagged effects between hope and the needs for autonomy and relatedness were not statistically significant, but synchronous relations did exist. The study suggested that perceived vocational competencies lead to increases in hope, while the trainees’ hope in turn also had positive effects on the development of perceived vocational competencies.     

Going beyond ethnoracial discrimination and social support in accounting for psychological adjustment: Evidence for the importance of hope as a positive psychological construct in multiethnoracial adults

ABSTRACT

In the present study, we examined the role of ethnoracial discrimination, social support (viz., family & friends), and hope (viz., agency & pathways) in accounting for negative psychological adjustment (viz., worry & depressive symptoms) and positive psychological adjustment (viz., vitality & life satisfaction) in a sample of 203 (164 females & 39 males) multiethnoracial adults. Results of conducting a series of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that beyond ethnoracial discrimination and social support, the inclusion of hope was found to augment the prediction model of psychological adjustment. Within the hope set, agency was found to be uniquely associated with adjustment. Pathways was found to be uniquely associated with positive indices of psychological adjustment. The present findings are the first to highlight the significance of hope in multiethnoracial adults. Some implications of the present findings for understanding psychological adjustment in multiethnoracial adults are discussed.     

Gratitude predicts hope and happiness: A two-study assessment of traits and states

Abstract

Gratitude is the appreciation of a gift received; happiness is the enjoyment of a present good; and hope is the desire for a valued future. Two studies investigated gratitude as a predictor of hope and happiness. In Study 1, hierarchical regressions (N = 181) revealed that trait gratitude exceeded other constructs (forgivingness, patience, self-control) in predicting trait hope and happiness. In Study 2, we experimentally tested the impact of a gratitude-related writing intervention on state hope and happiness. Participants (N = 153) first wrote about a current, meaningful, hoped-for outcome and completed state hope and happiness measures. Participants were randomly assigned to either (a) gratefully remember a past hope that had been fulfilled or (b) a control condition. The grateful remembering condition (vs. control) prompted significant increases in state hope and happiness, commending grateful remembering as a practice that can bolster present happiness and hope for the future.     

Hope and social support utilisation among different age groups of women with breast cancer and their spouses

Objective: Social support and hope are considered positive, important contributors to psychological well-being for women with breast cancer and their spouses. Few studies examine the role of age in relation to these variables. The current study compares the relationship between social support, hope and depression among different age groups of women with advanced breast cancer and their healthy spouses.

Design: Cross-sectional sample of 150 women with advanced breast cancer and their spouses.

Main outcome measures: Social support, hope, depression and socio-demographic data. Analysis included comparison of these variables between groups of older and younger patients and their spouses. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to examine hope as a mediator of the relationship between social support and depression within each group (older and younger patients and spouses).

Results: Older patients and spouses reported lower levels of depression than younger ones. SEM showed that social support related directly to depression among younger women and older spouses, while hope was directly related to depression among older women and younger spouses and acted as a mediator between social support and depression.

Conclusions: Theoretical, empirical and clinical implications regarding the understanding of the role of age in coping with cancer are discussed.     

Hope,Anger, and Depression as Mediators for Forgiveness and Social Behavior in Turkish Children

ABSTRACT. This study examined the mediating effects of hope, anger, and depression in the associations between forgiveness and social behavior, in fourth grade students in Turkey. The 352 fourth grade primary school students were involved in the study. The average age was 9.98 and 56.3% were boys. The Enright Forgiveness Inventory for Children (EFI-C), the Beck Anger Inventory for Youth (BANI-Y), the Children Hope Scale (CHS), the Social Behavior Questionnaire (SBQ), and the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) were used. Results showed that depression mediates the relationship between anger and antisocial behavior and between hope and antisocial behavior. Anger mediates the relationship between hope and depression and between hope and antisocial behavior. Forgiveness was related to anger and hope directly. Implications of this study for child counseling were discussed.     

CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE APOCALYPTIC IMAGINATION: SCIENCE,FAITH, AND ECOLOGICAL RESPONSIBILITY

The use of apocalyptic and post apocalyptic narratives to interpret the risk of environmental degradation and climate change has been criticized for (1) too often making erroneous predictions on the basis of too little evidence, (2) being ineffective to motivate change, (3) leading to a discounting of present needs in the face of an exaggerated threat of impending catastrophe, and (4) relying on a pre‐modern, Judeo‐Christian mode of constructing reality. Nevertheless, “Apocalypse,” whether understood in its technical sense as “revelation” or in its popular sense as “end of the world as we know it,” remains a powerful way of creatively reimagining the world and of introducing questions of value and significance into discussions of climate change.     

Hope in a strengths-based group activity for individuals with chronic pain

While hope has been described as the ability to imagine a future in which one wishes to participate, individuals with chronic pain can have difficulty maintaining hope due to the pervasive impact of pain on multiple facets of their lives. This research examines client experiences of hope during a hope and strengths activity offered as part of a group treatment plan for individuals experiencing chronic pain. Entitled Being Hopeful in the Face of Chronic Pain, the group was developed in order to focus on hope and generative emotional experiences, experiences often lacking for individuals with chronic pain. The group activity being studied specifically addressed participants’ current strengths and strengths they hope-to-have-more-of. The study employed basic qualitative inquiry and utilized interpersonal process recall individual interviews to stimulate participant recall. Twelve participants (spanning three separate group offerings) individually discussed their personal experiences as they unfolded during a specific hope and strengths-focused activity. Participants described experiences during the group activity that fostered personal hope via perspective shifts, communion, comparison and connection with other group members. Findings are discussed in the context of current literature on hope, chronic pain, positive psychology and group interventions.     

Impact of emotional approach coping and hope on PTSD and depression symptoms in a trauma exposed sample of Veterans receiving outpatient VA mental health care services

Abstract

The present investigation evaluates the relationship between coping style, dispositional hope, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptom severity in a trauma-exposed Veteran sample. Specifically, we evaluated the adaptive value of emotional avoidant and approach coping strategies and perceptions of hope in a sample of 209 trauma-exposed Veterans receiving outpatient mental health care at a VA facility. Participants completed a life events questionnaire and inventories assessing coping, dispositional hope, and PTSD and depression symptom severity. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted controlling for relevant demographic variables. Greater levels of emotional avoidance and lower levels of emotional expression were significantly associated with increased PTSD and depression symptom severity. Dispositional hope was positively associated with depression symptoms only and perceptions of hope moderated the association between emotional avoidance coping and depression symptoms. Findings highlight the value of emotional coping strategies and perceptions of hope in posttraumatic adjustment. Specifically, employing coping techniques that encourage emotional expression may promote improved adjustment among trauma-exposed individuals, while reduced perceptions of hope and the use of avoidant coping strategies may place individuals at greater risk for depression following exposure to traumatic events.     

Side Wound,Virgin Birth,Transfiguration

Abstract

This essay draws on the work of Karmen MacKendrick and several early Christian theologians to argue for a Christian “morphological imaginary” (Judith Butler) characterized by remarkable fluidity of embodiment. It does so by tracing the “mimetic circuitry” (Jean-Luc Nancy) of the traditions of virgin birth, side wound, and transfiguration, bringing several patristic-era meditations on these themes into further conversation with MacKendrick’s work.     

Fantasy Play in 5- and 6-Year-Old Children

We studied the verbal pretend play of 5- and 6-year-old boys and girls to delineate age and sex differences during the later preoperational period. Sixteen children with average language ability were paired by age and sex and were videotaped for three 15-min intervals. Verbal interactions were transcribed, and the pretend play was classified as object fantasy, imaginative action plans/themes, or fantasy roles. Language ilsed for pretend play increased in proportion to all utterances with age. Older children referred to more invented objects than younger ones but primarily in the service of realistic action formats. Girls' conversations were scored as having significantly more verbal pretending than boys' and a higher proportion of it referred to play roles. There were both age and sex differences in the types of themes, toys used, and roles enacted, including more sex-typed behavior in older children. The continued increase in the proportion of pretend play to all verbal interaction with age and the characteristics of play behavior is consistent with developmental theory.