Hope and Goal Attainment: Testing a Basic Prediction of Hope Theory
Abstract
Despite the impressive literature addressing Snyder's (1994) Hope Theory, the theory's basic hypothesis that hope predicts goal attainment has never been tested. We provide a longitudinal test of this prediction among 162 college students. Participants completed measures of hope and goal importance at the beginning of the semester. Three months later, they completed measures of goal attainment and hope again. Results indicate that a goal-specific measure of hope (particularly the agency subscale) predicted goal attainment better than the Hope Scale (Snyder et al., 1991), which measures hope regarding goals in general. The influence of Time 1 goal importance upon Time 2 attainment was largely mediated through goal-specific hope. Moreover, participants appeared to adjust their Time 2 hope levels based on their actual goal attainment.
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Academic hope has been linked to positive educational outcomes such as academic performance and goal attainment.
“Academic hope has been linked to positive educational outcomes such as academic performance and goal attainment (Feldman et al., 2009;Feldman & Kubota, 2015;Rand & Cheavens, 2009).”
From The Importance of STEM Sense of Belonging and Academic Hope in Enhancing Persistence for Low-Income, Underrepresented STEM Students (2024) · cites this paper as Feldman et al., 2009
Cites
Structural model evaluation and modification: An interval estimation approach
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TARGET ARTICLE: Hope Theory: Rainbows in the Mind
Snyder, C. R. (2002) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1207/s15327965pli1304_01 · Cited by 3,737 · see citing works
Wrosch, C., Scheier, M. F., Miller, G. E., Schulz, R., & Carver, C. S. (2003) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167203256921 · Cited by 991 · see citing works
Hope therapy in a community sample: a pilot investigation
Cheavens, J. S., Feldman, D. B., Gum, A., Michael, S. T., & Snyder, C. R. (2006) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-005-5553-0 · Cited by 439 · see citing works
Self-citationHope and Coping with Cancer by College Women
Irving, L. M., Snyder, C. R., & Crowson, Jr. (1998) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/1467-6494.00009 · Cited by 298 · see citing works
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Doorley, J. D., Goodman, F. R., Kelso, K. C., & Kashdan, T. B. (2020) · Social and Personality Psychology Compass · doi:10.1111/spc3.12566 · Cited by 264 · see citing works
Hansen, M. J., Palakal, M. J., & White, L. (2024) · Journal for STEM Education Research · doi:10.1007/s41979-023-00096-8 · Cited by 138 · see citing works
Dowling, M., & Rickwood, D. (2015) · Counselling and Psychotherapy Research · doi:10.1002/capr.12037 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Effectiveness of mentorship program among underprivileged children in Hong Kong
Ng, E. C. W., Lai, M. K., & Chan, C. C. (2014) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.09.021 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
- Authors
- Feldman, D. B., Rand, K. L., & Kahle-Wrobleski, K.
- Affiliations
- Santa Clara University (US)
- Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology
- Publisher
- Guilford Publications
- Published
- 2009-04
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 479-497
- ISSN
- 0736-7236 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1975255642
- Cited by
- 202
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 6.86
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Optimism, Hope, and Well-being
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Grit, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation
- Keywords
- hope theory, goal achievement, goal importance, agency, hope scale, university students, mediation, longitudinal prediction
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