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Validation of the Children’s Hope Scale Amongst a Sample of Adolescents in the Western Cape Region of South Africa

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Abstract

A growing body of research has provided evidence for the cognitive-motivational construct of hope as a psychological strength, particularly for adolescents confronted with ensuing adverse conditions. Given the dearth of research on hope in South Africa, the aim of the current study was to validate Snyder’s Children’s Hope Scale within this context. A cross sectional survey design was used to collect data from a sample of 1022 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 16 (449 males and 573 females) attending high schools within the Western Cape geographical region of South Africa. The sample was selected using a two-stage stratified random sampling protocol, with socio-economic status (low, medium and high) as the defining variable. Data were collected using Snyder’s (1997) Children’s Hope Scale which was adapted to the South African context and translated into Afrikaans. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to analyse the data. The results indicate good fit indices for the overall model with two error co-variances (x 2 = 35.692; df = 7; p = 0.00; CFI = 0.984; RMSEA = 0.063; SRMR = 0.023). Multi-group analysis with constrained factor loadings and intercepts show good fit across socio-economic status groups which indicate that these groups can be compared by correlations, regressions and means. The overall findings suggest that the Children’s Hope Scale is an appropriate measure for use in the South African context.

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Notes

  1. The Gini Index is calculated using a Lorenz curve which plots the cumulative percentages of total income received against the cumulative number of recipients, beginning with the poorest individual or household. The Gini index measures the area between the Lorenz curve and a hypothetical line of absolute equality, expressed as a percentage of the maximum area under the line. Thus a Gini index of 0 represents perfect equality, while an index of 100 implies perfect inequality.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would herewith like to acknowledge the financial and institutional support of the National Research Foundation of South Africa.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of the Western Cape, Modderdam Road, Bellville, Cape Town, South Africa

    Shazly Savahl & Sabirah Adams

  2. Research Institute of Quality of Life, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Girona, Pl. S. Domènec, 9, 17071, Girona, Spain

    Ferran Casas

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  1. Shazly Savahl
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  2. Ferran Casas
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  3. Sabirah Adams
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Correspondence to Shazly Savahl.

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Savahl, S., Casas, F. & Adams, S. Validation of the Children’s Hope Scale Amongst a Sample of Adolescents in the Western Cape Region of South Africa. Child Ind Res 9, 701–713 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-015-9334-2

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