An analysis of hope as a psychological strength

Psychologists have placed an increased emphasis on identifying psychological strengths that foster healthy development. Hope, as operationalized in Snyder's hope theory Snyder, C. R., Hoza, B., Pelham, W. E., Rapoff, M., Ware, L., & Danovsky, M., et al. (1997). The development and validation of the children’s hope scale. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 22, 399-421], is one such cognitive-motivational construct that has received recent attention as a potential psychological strength that may serve as a protective factor for adolescents in the face of adverse life events. This longitudinal study, involving middle and high school students, provided evidence of (1) stability of hope reports of adolescents over a 1-year period, (2) predictive validity of adolescent hope reports, and (3) hope's functional role as a moderator in the relationship between stressful life events and adolescent well-being. Taken together, the results provide support for consideration of hope as a key psychological strength in youth. The findings are consistent with theories of motivation in which individual differences in hopeful thinking are conceptualized to play a functional role in linking life events and psychological well being.