1. Hope and Well-Being among Latinos: New Directions for Research
Lisa M. Edwards, Ph.D.
Counseling & Educational Psychology
Marquette University

2. 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

3. 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)

4. Hope Among Culturally Diverse Youth (Children’s 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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 , ***
Friend Support
Family Support .62* , ***
Friend Support
Family Support .52*** .06
Hope .37*** , ***
*p < .05, ***p < .001

9. Variable B SEB R2 DR2 df F Friend Support .30 .15 .03 .03 1, 108 3.71
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 ,
Friend Support
Family Support .40** , **
Friend Support
Family Support .33** .11
Hope .36*** , ***
**p < .01, ***p < .001

10. 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.)