Children's Hope Scale Research Articles

Increasing Academic Motivation in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students From Low Socioeconomic Backgrounds

According to research, students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds have lower rates of high school graduation and university attendance. There is little research regarding interventions to address these issues. The current study compared the effects of two programs designed to increase academic motivation. Forty-seven high school female athletes from culturally and linguistically diverse and economically disadvantaged backgrounds participated in the study. The programs were implemented over a 12-week period, 2 days per week within the school day. One group received instruction using a program that was designed by the school's physical education faculty. The other group received instruction using the Possible Selves program (Hock, Schumaker, & Deshler, 2003). The researchers investigated the effects of the programs with regard to the students' level of hope for the future as measured by the Children's Hope Scale (Snyder et al., 1994), records of the students' grades and number of administrative behavioral referrals, students' self-reports about their participation, and researchers' evaluation of the students' goals. The results did not indicate a difference in the students' hopes for the future. There was little difference in overall grade point averages and no difference in behavioral referrals between the two groups. The students' perceptions of their participation in the programs were similar. However, the students in the Possible Selves group indicated that they received more support from an adult during their program, and they reported higher levels of effort toward academics than the comparison group. The most significant finding was a difference in the quality of goals written. The Possible Selves group wrote goals and action plans that were more specific and realistic.

The relationship of children's hope to pediatric asthma treatment adherence

This study investigated the relationship between hope and adherence to a daily inhaled steroid regimen among 48 asthma patients ages 8–12 years old who participated in a 14 day adherence assessment. Participants completed the Children's Hope Scale, and parents completed a questionnaire aimed at demographic and disease-related information. Adherence was measured by electronic monitoring of the use of the participant's metered-dose inhaler. A multivariate model predicting nonadherence was built, including FEV1 in the first step and children's hope level in the second step. This model was a significant predictor of adherence (Nagelkerke R 2 = 0.24, p = 0.01). No other demographic or psychosocial variables were significant predictors of adherence. These findings highlight the need to attend to psychosocial predictors of adherence, specifically hope, and may help practitioners target these factors in their efforts to increase adherence among pediatric asthma patients.

Hope Measurement in Mexican American Youth

Hope is a motivational construct that has been associated with many positive outcomes in children, adolescents, and adults. Although research with the Children's Hope Scale (CHS) has demonstrated support for the reliability and validity of the CHS with various samples of youth, there is little empirical evidence for its use with Latino youth. The current study examined the psychometric properties of the six-item CHS in a sample of 135 Mexican American youth. Confirmatory factor analyses provided support for a hierarchical representation of the CHS with two underlying factors (pathways and agency). CHS scores were found to be positively correlated with measures of positive affect, life satisfaction, support from family and friends, and optimism. Additional analyses provided evidence supporting convergent validity and measurement invariance across gender. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Relative Levels of Hope and Their Relationship With Academic and Psychological Indicators Among Adolescents

The major goals of this study were to (a) investigate the relationships among adolescent students' levels of hope and various academic and psychological indicators of school adjustment, and (b) determine critical levels of hope associated with these indicators. Using the Children's Hope Scale (Snyder, Hoza et al., 1997), results from a hierarchical cluster analysis placed youth into a low, average, and high hope group. Youth in the high hope group differed from students with low hope on all independent measures. Further, youth reporting high hope also differed from students reporting average levels of hope on personal adjustment, global life satisfaction, and self-reported grade point average. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Adolescent Alcohol, Tobacco, and Marijuana Use: The Influence of Neighborhood Disorder and Hope

To investigate relationships between adolescents' current alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use; perceptions of neighborhood disorder; and sense of hope. Questionnaires were administered to a nonrandom sample of middle school students during the spring of 1999. The ethnically and geographically diverse sample (n = 369), from a range of low socioeconomic status backgrounds, was considered to be at high risk for alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use because of previous enrollment in low socioeconomic status elementary schools. Alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use were dichotomized into current and never/no use. Six variables described neighborhood social disorder. Sense of hope was assessed using the Children's Hope Scale. Statistically significant relationships were found between perceived neighborhood disorder and current alcohol (p = .01), tobacco (p = .001), and marijuana (p < .001) use. A statistically significant and independent relationship was found between sense of hope and current alcohol (p = .02), tobacco (p = .02), and marijuana (p = .06) use. Results indicated linear trends in participants' increased use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana and (1) perception of higher neighborhood disorder and (2) lower sense of hope. Substance use prevention programs for youth might usefully be directed not only to adolescents but also to the neighborhoods in which they live. Additionally, it would be important to emphasize creating safer neighborhood environments that support the development of a stronger sense of hope for the future.

Further Evaluation of the Children's Hope Scale

Two studies addressed the psychometric properties of the Children's Hope Scale (CHS; Snyder et al., 1997). A sample of 460 high school students was administered the CHS along with measures of life satisfaction, extraversion, neuroticism, social support, and externalizing and internalizing behaviors. The results revealed adequate internal consistency for the CHS for research purposes. Furthermore, confirmatory factor analysis procedures supported the correlated, two-factor conceptual model underlying the CHS. Finally, evidence of criterion-related validity was provided. The findings were replicated with a sample of 531 middle school students. Taken together, the studies extend support for the reliability and validity of the CHS with adolescents.

The development and validation of the Children's Hope Scale.

Assuming that children are goal-oriented, it is suggested that their thoughts are related to two components--agency and pathways. Agency thoughts reflect the perception that children can initiate and sustain action toward a desired goal; pathways thoughts reflect the children's perceived capability to produce routes to those goals. Hope reflects the combination of agentic and pathways thinking toward goals. A six-item dispositional self-report index called the Children's Hope Scale is introduced and validated for use with children ages 8-16. Results suggest that the scale evidence internal consistency, and is relatively stable over retesting. Additionally, the scale exhibits convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity. Limitations and uses of the scale are discussed.