Abstract
The Adult Trait Hope Scale (Snyder et al., 1991) typically has been administered to samples of college students, and previous researchers have not explored key demographic variables. In a large sample of community persons who were not in college (N = 215), significant differences were detected in Hope Scale scores across differing age groups and marital status. Specifically, hope was lower for the older cohort (age 54–65) and for those who were separated, divorced, or widowed. Comparative results between Hope and Satisfaction with Life measures indicate somewhat similar outcomes, except with age. These findings are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
ARRINDELL, W. A., MEEUWESEN, L., & HUYSE, F. J. (1991). The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS): Psychometric properties in a non-psychiatric medical outpatients sample. Personality & Individual Differences, 12, 117–123.
BAILEY, T. C., ENG, W., FRISCH, M. B., & SNYDER, C. R. (2006). Hope and optimism as related to life satisfaction. Manuscript submitted.
BENZEIN, E. G., & BERG, A. C. (2005). The level of and relationship between hope, hopelessness and fatigue in patients and family members in palliative care. Palliative Medicine, 19, 234–240.
CHEAVENS, J., GUM, A., & SNYDER, C. R. (2000). The Trait Hope Scale. In J. Maltby, C. A. Lewis, & A. Hill (Eds.), Handbook of psychological tests (Vol. 1) (pp. 248–258). Lampeter, Wales, U. K.: Mellen Press.
CURRY, L. A., SNYDER, C. R., COOK, D. L., RUBY, B. C., & REHM, M. (1997). Role of hope in academic and sport achievement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 6, 1257–1267.
DIENER, E. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a National index. American Psychologist, 55, 34–43.
DIENER, E., EMMONS, R. A., LARSEN, R. J., & GRIFFIN, S. (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71–75.
DIENER, E., GOHM, C. L., SUH, E., & OISHI, S. (2000). Similarity of the relations between marital status and subjective well-being across cultures. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 31, 419–436.
DIENER, E., SAPYTA, J. J., & SUH, E. (1998). Subjective well-being is essential to well-being. Psychological Inquiry, 9(1), 33–37.
DIENER, E., SUH, E. M., LUCAS, R. E., & SMITH, H. L. (1999). Subjective wellbeing: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 276–302.
ESBENSEN, B. A., ØSTERLIND, K., ROER, O., & HALLBERG, I. R. (2004). Quality of life of elderly persons with newly diagnosed cancer. European Journal of Cancer Care, 13, 443–453.
FERRARO, F. R., & NEISIUS, L. (2002). Caregiving in young and middle-age adults. Psychology and Education, 39(3/4), 22–24.
KAHNEMAN, D., DIENER, E., & SCHWARTZ, N. (1999). Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
LYKKEN, D. (1999). Happiness: The nature and nurture of joy and contentment. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
MAGALETTA, P. R., & OLIVER, J. M. (1999). The hope construct, will and ways: Their relations with self-efficacy, optimism, and general well-being. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 55(5), 539–551.
MASTEKAASA, A. (1995). Age variations in the suicide rates and self-reported subjective well-being of married and never married persons. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 5, 21–39.
MERTENS, D. M. (2005). Research and evaluation in education and psychology: Integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
MYERS, D. G., & DIENER, E. (1995). Who is happy? Psychological Science, 6, 10–18.
NUNNALLY, J. C., & BERNSTEIN, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
PAVOT, W., & DIENER, E. (1993). Review of the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Psychological Assessments, 5, 164–172.
SNYDER, C. R. (1994). The psychology of hope: You can get there from here. New York: The Free Press.
SNYDER, C. R. (1995). Conceptualizing, measuring, and nurturing hope. Journal of Counseling & Development, 73, 355–360.
SNYDER, C. R. (2000). The past and possible futures of hope. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19(1), 11–28.
SNYDER, C. R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13(4), 249–275.
SNYDER, C. R., HARRIS, C., ANDERSON, J. R., HOLLERAN, S. A., IRVING, L. M., SIGMON, S. T., et al. (1991). The will and the ways: Development and validation of an individual-differences measure of hope. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(4), 570–585.
WESTBURG, N. G. (2001). Hope in older women: The importance of past and current relationships. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 20(3), 354–365.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bailey, T.C., Snyder, C.R. Satisfaction with Life and Hope: A Look at Age and Marital Status. Psychol Rec 57, 233–240 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395574
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395574