Hope as a Predictor of Adolescent Academic Functioning and Well-Being

• In Event: Mental Health, Trauma, and Well-Being in Childhood and Adolescence

Abstract

During adolescence, hope is particularly salient within school. Cognitive hope focuses on cognitions surrounding goal attainment whereas behavioral hope focuses on actions required for goal attainment. Often examined independently, researchers rarely examine the concurrent contribution of each type of hope to adolescents’ academic functioning and well-being. The current study examines the concurrent contributions of cognitive and behavioral hope to academic functioning (i.e., achievement and school engagement) and well-being (i.e., stress and anxiousness) across adolescence. When modeled concurrently, cognitive hope significantly predicted achievement, school engagement, anxiousness, and stress (for high-school aged students only); however, aspects of behavioral hope only emerged as predictors of school engagement. Findings providing evidence regarding the role of hope in school settings and possible areas for intervention.

Authors

• Crystal I. Bryce, Arizona State University

• Brittany Alexander, Arizona State University

• Ashley Fraser, Arizona State University

• Richard Fabes, Arizona State University