U.S. college students’ lay beliefs about hope: A mixed-methods study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Although the theory of hope proposed by Charles R. Snyder is the dominant perspective in hope psychology, scholars have questioned whether it adequately represent laypeople’s understanding of hope. Accordingly, this mixed-methods study (N =298) explored U.S. college students’ lay beliefs about hope. Participants provided written responses to eight open-ended prompts on their beliefs about hope. A directed content analysis of participants’ qualitative responses identified interpersonal relationships, optimism, work, spirituality, and positive emotions as the five most prevalent beliefs about hope, whereas beliefs associated with Snyder’s theory of hope (agency and pathways) were rarely mentioned. The authors also investigated whether these five beliefs and two other beliefs – materialistic perspective on hope and belief in the unconditional nature of hope – predicted well-being outcomes. Multiple regression analyses indicated that belief in the unconditional nature of hope was the most robust positive predictor of well-being outcomes, followed by belief about the spiritual nature of hope.