Hope‐enhancement interventions: A third wave coalesces

Abstract

Investigators propose that the discipline of "positive psychology (PP)" is currently enjoying its third decade of research activity 1 -a milestone best appreciated with the metaphor of waves that simultaneously spawn and overlap one another. 2,3 The article by McLouth et al. 4 published in Psycho-Oncology, can be contextualized with a similar allegory for interventions designed to augment "hope," a subset of PP that has been the focus of energized scholarship during a comparable time frame (Figure 1).The first wave-the genesis of Hope Theory-can be traced to 1987 when, during a sabbatical year from the University of Kansas, Professor C.R. Snyder carried out a grass-roots project. Specifically, Snyder interviewed a large number of people ("n" unknown) who were characterized by others as "hopeful" and identified three common threads in their thought patterns: pursuing a goal, developing workable routes to reach such goals, and harboring a willingness to embark on those routes. 5 These observations morphed into a formal theory, positing that hope was composed of a crucial triad: goals, pathways, and agency. In our previous writings, we sometimes have referred to these as the "conditions for hope to thrive." 6 Research now shows that people often report feeling hopeful when these components or conditions are present in their lives. 6 With time, this understanding of hope has been further operationalized and measured with validated scales 7,8 and-quite suddenly-hope had transitioned from a nebulous phenomenon to a scientifically quantifiable entity.A second wave emerged as investigators recognized the value of Snyder's contributions and endeavored to translate a theoreticalalbeit quantifiable-concept into pragmatic, therapeutic interventions that could help others in the community (both healthy individuals and those with diagnosable psychological disorders as -1 of 4