Hope and WellBeing among Latinos: New Directions for Research

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Hope and Well-Being among Latinos New
Directions for Research

• Lisa M. Edwards, Ph.D.
• Counseling Educational Psychology
• Marquette University
• lisa.edwards_at_marquette.edu

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Purpose of Presentation

• Discuss theory and research about hope among
  culturally diverse individuals
• Describe findings from current studies about hope
  and well-being among Latino/a youth and adults
• Pose areas for future research

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Cultural Equivalence Issues

• Conceptual equivalence
• Strengths may have different definitions
• Measurement equivalence
• Strengths may not be measured as accurately by
  various instruments
• Linguistic equivalence
• Strengths measures may not be translated
  appropriately to ensure the same meanings of
  terms and descriptions
• (Mio, Barker-Hackett, Tumambing, 2006)

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Hope Among Culturally Diverse Youth (Childrens
Hope Scale)

• Snyder et al. (1997)
• CHS Development and Validation
• Valle, Huebner, Suldo (2004)
• Support for CHS with African American youth
• Edwards, Ong, Lopez (2007)
• Support for CHS with Mexican American youth

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Hope Among Culturally Diverse Adults (Adult Hope
Scale)

• Chang Banks (2007)
• European American, African American, Latino/a and
  Asian American College Students
• Correlations of hope with other variables similar
  across groups
• Predictors of hope differ across some groups

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Exploring Hope and Academic Achievement in Youth

• Adelabu (2008)
• Future time perspective, hope, and ethnic
  identity among rural and urban African American
  adolescents
• FTP, hope, and ethnic identity explain a
  significant, independent portion of the
  variability in academic achievement in these youth

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Exploring Hope and Well-Being among Latino/a
Youth and Adults

• Incorporating the cultural context
• Variables such as perceived support from family
  and friends
• 2 Studies
• Mexican American adolescents (mean age 15)
• Latino/a College Students

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Hierarchical Regression Analysis of Perceived
Friend Support, Family Support and Hope as
Predictors of Life Satisfaction (N 287
Latino/a Adolescents)
Variable B SEB R2 DR2 df F Friend
Support .39 .06 .12 .12 1, 287
40.35 Friend Support .12 .06 Family
Support .62 .06 .36 .24 2, 286
81.77 Friend Support .04 .05 Family
Support .52 .06 Hope .37 .05
.46 .09 3, 285 79.43 p lt .05,
p lt .001
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Hierarchical Regression Analysis of Perceived
Friend Support, Family Support and Hope as
Predictors of Life Satisfaction (N 109 Latino/a
College Students)
Variable B SEB R2 DR2 df F Friend
Support .30 .15 .03 .03 1, 108
3.71 Friend Support .24 .15 Family
Support .40 .12 .12 .09 2, 107
7.42 Friend Support .13 .14 Family
Support .33 .11 Hope .36 .07
.28 .16 3, 106 13.85 p lt
.01, p lt .001
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Areas for Future Research

• Mixed methods approaches to studying hope
• Hope as a buffer of discrimination or other
  stressors
• Relationship of hope to cultural variables
  (ethnic identity, acculturation, etc.)