Adolescent Hope as a Mediator Between Parent-Child Connectedness and Adolescent Outcomes

Abstract

This study examines adolescent hope as a mediator between connectedness to mother and father, and positive and negative child outcomes. Participants included 489 adolescents aged 9 to 14 years (M = 11.29; SD = 1.01) and their parents from the Flourishing Families Project, and data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results suggested that hope mediated the relation between child-reported parent-child connectedness and adolescents' prosocial behavior, school engagement, and internalizing behavior. Mother-and father-reported connectedness were not related to adolescent hope but were directly related to behavioral outcomes. This study highlights the importance of adolescents' cognitive-motivational processes for both positive and negative outcomes and has important implications for prevention and intervention programs.

Hope, the Household Environment, and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Young Women in Rural South Africa (HPTN 068)

“…As expected, young women who lived in households that had an older average age – likely an indication of more adult members in the household along with fewer youth – were more likely to report high hope. Previous research suggests that youth are more likely to develop hope when they have stable relationships with supportive adults [61], and that adult supervision has a significant effect on hope [62], indicating potential explanations of the positive relationship we found between average household age and hope. The present study cannot elucidate the reasons why these household characteristics were associated with hope.…”

Hope as a Mediator of Bullying Involvement and Emotional Difficulties in Children

“…The counseling relationship is a significant source of this hope, providing “a mixture of safety, acceptance, understanding and signs of counselor commitment” (Larsen & Stege, 2012, p. 51). Growing literature describes hope as a primarily cognitive‐motivation construct that captures the intention to act to achieve perceived goals, which is different from a mere belief in ability to act, such as self‐efficacy (Padilla‐Walker, Hardy, & Christensen, 2011; Snyder, Feldman, Shorey, & Rand, 2002).…”

Dreams, aspirations and related constructs in children and adolescents: a literature review

“…In addition, for children, caregivers' ability to devise ways for goal attainment is crucial to hope and adaptation [26]. These caring and hopeful experiences of children and adolescents within their ecology are important predictors of hope during adolescence [31].…”