Poster #204 - Cumulative Hope: An Examination of Hope Assets and Developmental Outcomes and Contexts Among Adolescent Youth

• In Event: 2-163 - Poster Session 08
  In Poster Session: PS 08 Section - Social, Emotional, Personality

Integrative Statement

Youth cognitive-motivational orientations have important implications for adjustment and well-being (Snyder, 2002). Home and school structures and processes can promote or inhibit positive goal-setting, persistence, flexibility, and problem-solving—skills critical for flourishing (Lerner et al., 2005). Collectively, these assets can be described as hope, recently conceptualized as a combination of (a) hopeful future expectations—positive visions for one’s future, (b) internal self-regulation—the capacity to work toward goals, and (c) closeness—caring and supportive relationships (Callina et al., 2017). Indeed, hope has been linked to positive outcomes including mental and physical health, social competence, and academic performance (Snyder et al., 2003; Weis & Speridakos, 2011; Lopez et al., 2009).

When a set of characteristics are theorized to collectively relate to development, they can be efficiently quantified using a cumulative index (Evans et al., 2013), particularly when characteristics may not correlate highly (such as the potential with hope assets). A cumulative approach has been frequently employed with risks, but less with assets. Further, there has been limited hope measurement reflective of conceptual advances, and many studies have been conducted with college-age rather than younger samples.

We addressed these gaps by creating and examining a Cumulative Hope (CH) index. We then:
1. Described CH for the overall sample and by youth sex, race, and family income-to-needs.
2. Examined associations between CH and developmental outcomes (e.g., achievement, risk-taking behavior, depression, school engagement).
3. Examined associations between CH and developmental contexts (home and school).

Data were drawn from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Participants were 15-years old (N=984), 50% female, 81% White, with an average family income 525% above the poverty level. Youth reported on academic future expectations (3 scales), internal-self regulation (2 scales), and closeness with teachers, parents, and peers (3 scales). From these reports, we created 8 dichotomous variables, with a 1 indicating presence of the hope asset (typically the top quartile). Developmental outcomes included reported problem behaviors, risk-taking behavior, school engagement, depression, and social skills, and directly assessed academic achievement. Developmental contexts included observed home environment and principal-reported school environment.

We first examined CH distributions for the overall sample and by subgroup. We then examined CH cross-sectionally in relation to developmental outcomes and contexts using bivariate correlations, ANOVAs, OLS regressions, and a comparison of proportions of low- and high-hope youth in the lowest and highest quartiles of developmental outcomes and contexts.

Differential distributional patterns emerged between sexes and races (Figure 1). Additionally, CH was robustly associated with positive social-emotional and behavioral outcomes but not achievement. Relative to youth with the poorest developmental outcomes, youth with the best outcomes were typically underrepresented in the 0-1 hope asset groups and overrepresented in the 5-8 asset group. Further, CH was positively associated with home but not school environment (Table 1).

Results support the value of a cumulative asset approach to hope measurement. Discussion will highlight hope assets as potential levers to enhance mental health and behavior, and the home as a particularly salient context for fostering adolescent hope assets.

Authors

• Tashia Abry, Arizona State University
  Presenting Author

• Brittany L Alexander, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jayley Janssen, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Crystal Bryce, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Richard A. Fabes, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author