Psychosocial factors associated with dispositional hope, agency thinking, and pathways thinking in a homeless adult population.

Abstract

Adults facing homelessness often perceive themselves to be at the bottom of society, which has implications for their current and future well-being. Snyder's hope theory, which posits that agency thinking and pathways thinking are necessary for achieving a hopeful outlook on life, may be helpful for understanding drivers of well-being among individuals experiencing homelessness. In this study, we examined dispositional hope, perceived goal attainment, social support, and perceived standing in society among 123 adults experiencing homelessness who were attending a support group at a daytime drop-in center in the United States. Participants completed self-report measures related to the aforementioned variables of interest. We discovered that higher levels of self-reported goal attainment, independent of the type of goal identified, were significantly associated with total hope and both its subscales, that social support was significantly associated with total hope and pathways thinking, and that perceived standing in society was significantly associated with total hope and agency thinking.