A Structural Equation Model of External Hope in Parents/Guardians As a Driver of Internal Hope and Life Satisfaction Among Adolesent Males

One of the more well-known theories of hope is by C.R. Snyder (Snyder et al., 1991), who conceptualizes hope as a cognitive set that involves appraisals of one’s ability to bring about desired ends. More recently, Bernardo (2010) has added to hope theory by proposing a model of hope that includes a locus of hope dimension, suggesting that hope can originate either internally, based on appraisals of an individual’s personal ability to bring about desired ends, or externally, based on appraisals of external agents with the ability to bring about one’s desired ends. This study explores Bernardo’s locus of hope theory by examining parents/guardians (P/G) as external agents of hope among adolescent males. Consistent with the theory that effective parenting can instill hope in children (Snyder, 1994), the study hypothesized that among adolescent males, external hope in P/G would serve as an antecedent of internal hope ultimately leading to greater life satisfaction.

Participants: 576 adolescent males (mean age of 15.7 years) who attend public school in the South Central United States.

Procedures: The study used a cross-sectional paper and pencil survey administered in participants’ classrooms.  The survey sought to capture participants' perceptions of external hope in P/G, internal hope, and life satisfaction.  The survey was anonymous with the study protocol being approved by the IRB of the institution with which the researchers are affiliated. 

Measures: The standardized instruments used in this study were 1.) External Locus of Hope Scale in P/G to capture individual participants’ perceptions of his P/G as being capable of bringing about his goals; 2.) the Children’s Hope Scale that was used to capture individual differences in internal hope; and 3.) the Satisfaction with Life Scale that was used to capture individual differences in life satisfaction.

Data Analysis:To test the theory of external hope in P/G as a driver of internal hope that ultimately results in greater overall life satisfaction among adolescent males, covariance based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) was used to evaluate the goodness of fit of a path model, using latent variables, of the 3 variables in the proposed order. Maximum likelihood estimations were used to test the fit of the theorized model.

Results: The results of the CB-SEM analysis of the hypothesized model indicated the model provided an adequate fit to the observed covariances according to commonly accepted fit indices (Χ² = 116.41, df = 24, p > .05; RMSEA = .08 [90% CI: .067, .097]; GFI = .96; CFI: .98). Furthermore, the model indicated that external hope in P/G was a robust positive predictor of both respondents’ internal hope (R² = .528) and the final consequent of life satisfaction (R²= .655).

Conclusions:  The results suggests parenting styles that involves parent/guardians as actively promoting their adolescent male’s goals may result in greater overall hope and life satisfaction for those adolescents. The results also suggest interventions that assist parents to be more actively engaged in the promotion of their adolescents’ goals hold promise as a means of generating increased wellbeing for those same adolescents.