Assessing hope in preadolescents: the role of gender and validity of the Italian Children's Hope Scale

Abstract

The psychological construct of hope, defined as a dynamic cognitive motivational system, is a predictor of psychological strength, well-being and flourishing across children, adolescents and adults. As a positive internal resource, hopeful thinking should be evaluated and fostered in preadolescence due to its pivotal role in supporting mental health and in shaping self-identity during this developmental phase. In a cultural context characterized by socioeconomic issues and a patriarchal structure, such as Southern Italy, hopeful thinking might be affected by gender factors. In the current study, we aimed to analyze the role of gender, age and socioeconomic status - SES (evaluated by Hollingshead Four Factor Index of Socioeconomic Status) on hopeful thinking, as assessed by the Children's Hope Scale (CHS; Snyder, 1997), in 320 preadolescents aged 10 to 14 years (152 females) attending middle schools in Southern Italy. Additionally, since CHS has been validated for English-speaking children and adapted for other languages but not Italian, we sought to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the CHS (obtained with back-translation), using a test-retest design. Results demonstrate that the Italian version of the CHS showed acceptable psychometric properties, with good internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α = .75; McDonald's ω = 0.75), and discrete test-retest reliability (r = 0.66). However, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) only partially supported the original two-factor model of the CHS, consisting of pathways and agency (moderate fit indices RMSEA = 0.10). Subsequent Exploratory Factor Analysis revealed a bidimensional model, but one CHS item shifted from the agency to the pathway factor yielding excellent fit (RMSEA = 0.01). Furthermore, gender but not age and SES was significantly correlated with the CHS scores in our preadolescent sample with significant differences observed in the agency component of hope. These differences are interesting and relevant if discussed in the context of broader culture-specific societal processes, including gender stereotypical beliefs and self-stigma. Overall, the CHS is an appropriate measure for assessing hope in the Italian context, revealing gender differences in preadolescents. The findings suggest the importance of educational interventions to foster hope, particularly for female students in gender-stereotyped environments.