Symposium Summary:
Hope is a cognitive trait that is associated with a wide range of positive outcomes (Gallagher & Lopez, 2018; Snyder, 2002). In particular, hope appears to be an important predictor of wellbeing and to provide resilience against the development of mental illness for some populations. More research is needed, however, to explore the extent to which the protective effects and mechanisms of hope are consistent across different contexts and populations. In this symposium, we will present findings from four studies that examined hope as a predictor of resilience and wellbeing across four distinct contexts with their own unique barriers. First, we will present findings from a meta-analytic review examining the concurrent and prospective effects of hope on anxiety across 104 studies. The second talk presents data from an examination of hope’s prospective effects on the longitudinal course of wellbeing and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in a sample of veterans of the U.S. armed forces. The third paper examines the unique effects of hope, optimism, and hurricane coping self-efficacy on wellbeing and mental illness in a sample of 300 adults who were impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Finally, the fourth paper is a timely presentation of data collected from over 800 adults during the three-month period directly after the Coronavirus pandemic reached the U.S. Data from this study demonstrated that not only does hope predict wellbeing, anxiety, and COVID-related stress; it also found that hope may indirectly impact these outcomes through perceived emotional control. The symposium will end with a brief discussion of how these four studies complement each other in showcasing hope as an important source of resilience and wellbeing for different populations and across diverse contexts. The findings of our symposium demonstrate that hope is a construct that cannot be limited to just one situation or population, but that hope is an important source of resilience and wellbeing for many populations.
Symposium Presentation 1 Proposal
Title: Hope and Anxiety: A meta-analytic review
Presenter: Laura J. Long, M.A., LPA
Abstract:
The association between the psychological construct of hope and mental illness continues to gain strong empirical support (Arnau, 2018). The major components of hope (agency and pathways-related thinking) may work to reduce a lack of perceived control over emotions, particularly negative emotions (Gallagher et al., 2019). Furthermore, the goal-oriented focus of hope may decrease the likelihood of attendance on sensations and cues associated with anxiety (Michael, 2000). The current study is a meta-analytic review of the relationship between hope and anxiety. The current review intends to confirm whether the extant literature is consistent with the conclusion that hope predicts lower anxiety symptoms. A comprehensive literature review identified 102 studies that met eligibility criteria, resulting in a total of 20,814 participants. We found a moderate, negative relationship between hope and overall anxiety. These results indicate that hope is a robust predictor of lower anxiety and warrants consideration when examining both the treatment of and prevention of anxiety-related disorders.
Symposium Presentation 2 Proposal
Title: Hope Predicts Wellbeing and PTSD over Time in Veterans
Presenter: Angela L. Richardson, M.A.
Abstract:
Veterans frequently experience a number of stressors as associated with an increased risk of PTSD, substance abuse, and chronic conditions during their military service (Liu et al., 2017; Teeters et al., 2017). The clinical psychological community has continued to grow their interest in identifying forms of resilience that can prevent or help improve mental illnesses such as PTSD. Hope has been associated as mechanism of change in PTSD treatment (Gallagher, 2017; Gilman, Schumm, & Chard, 2012). However, there is limited empirical evidence regarding the extent to which hope may impact PTSD in veteran samples across. The current study examines the longitudinal relationship between hope, PTSD, and wellbeing through modeling levels of these variables across time. Data were collected across three waves, lasting approximately four months each. United States veterans were recruited through the crowdsourcing platform Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and asked to complete one survey for each time point. The first wave consisted of 410 veterans (Mage = 38.02; 25.6% female; 69.5% White). We hypothesized that while individuals with higher levels of hope at time 1 will exhibit greater change in PTSD and wellbeing across time, compared to individuals with lower mean levels of hope. Initial analyses involved using repeated measures ANOVAs examining the mean differences of hope, PTSD, and wellbeing across waves. The findings from this analysis indicated that mean levels of wellbeing and PTSD significantly differed between waves. Based on the ANOVA, mean levels of hope did not differ, indicating that hope remained stable over time. Additional analyses include a growth curve model demonstrating the variability in mean levels of hope, PTSD, and wellbeing across time, with the repeated measures representing a first level unit and each individual representing a second level unit. The findings for the current study add to the previous discussion about the relationship between hope and mental illness, while also establishing a longitudinal connection between hope and wellbeing among a specific sample of individuals who belong to a distinct subculture that has developed within the U.S. armed forces.
Symposium Presentation 3 Proposal
Title: Hope, Optimism, and Self-efficacy Predicting Mental Health & Illness in a Community Sample Exposed to Hurricane Harvey
Presenter: Johann M. D'Souza, M.A.
Abstract:
In 2017, Hurricane Harvey flooded more than 300,000 buildings causing an estimated $125 billion in damages and resulting in 68 deaths (National Hurricane Center). This actual or threatened loss of life and physical harm led many to report negative effects on mental wellbeing and greater mental illness (Schwartz, 2018). However, many individuals have been able to experience similar adverse events without a significant negative impact on their mental health and wellbeing. Positive thinking factors such as hope, optimism, and self-efficacy have been proposed as protective factors in the face of difficult life events (Creamer, et al., 2009; Alarcon, Bowling, & Khazon, 2013; Luszczynska, Benight, & Cieslak, 2009). Hope, optimism, and self-efficacy are related but distinct constructs that have often been studied separately, but whose unique impact on wellbeing and mental illness is less clear. The current study used structural equation modeling to measure the unique contribution of hope, optimism, and hurricane coping self-efficacy on mental wellbeing and mental illness in a community sample of 300 subjects who experienced Hurricane Harvey, recruited from MTurk. Hope, optimism, and self-efficacy predicted all three components of wellbeing, with hope being a stronger predictor of psychological compared to emotional wellbeing. Optimism was the only strong predictor of anxiety and depression. The magnitude of the association between hope and mental illness was much smaller in this study compared to prior research, demonstrating that hope’s effects on mental health and illness may be unique in situations related to natural disasters.
Symposium Presentation 4 Proposal:
Title: Examining the longitudinal effects and potential mechanisms of hope on COVID-19 stress and wellbeing
Presenter: Matthew W. Gallagher, PhD
Abstract: Hope is a cognitive trait that has been shown to predict both resilience to and recovery from anxiety- and stress-related disorders. The present study examines the role of hope in prospectively predicting anxiety, stress and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Perceived emotional control, a transdiagnostic vulnerability factor, was also examined as a potential mediator of these relationships. American adults (N = 822) were recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic using Amazon mTURK to examine how trait hope predicted outcomes approximately one month later using Structural equation modeling (SEM). Results indicated that higher hope predicted greater wellbeing and perceived emotional control and lower levels of anxiety and COVID-19 perceived stress. Statistically significant indirect effects were also found, such that perceived emotional control mediated the effects of hope on anxiety, stress and wellbeing. These findings indicate that hope may be one timely source of resilience as individuals cope with the chronic stress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.