These days, hope feels more essential than ever. When I look at my neighbors, my colleagues, my family, and even myself, I see a visceral need for it. Many people are struggling, and many situations seem bleak. I see this most clearly in my time with youth. When they feel safe enough to be honest with me, they admit they could use more hope in their lives. And I want us all to hold on to hope, because it is what keeps us moving forward, what stops us from giving up, and what inspires us to work for a better future.
I have long believed that young people with greater hope are more likely to stay focused on their goals, make choices that support personal and professional success, and avoid oppositional, antisocial, or otherwise problematic behaviors. This is because their hope helps them keep the future they want top of mind. Without hope, or with much less of it, caring about their future becomes harder. Some may even hurt themselves or others because they lack the mindset and drive that hope provides to make wise choices and avoid harmful ones. This is why I have always wanted to empirically study hope not as a simple emotional state, but as a cognitive-motivational asset. Specifically, I wanted to understand if hope can serve as a true protective factor in the lives of youth. Well, our research paper just got published and I’m here to share what we found!
What Even Is Hope?
Simply put, hope is about how people think and what drives them to act. It is the mental ability to imagine a better future, and the belief that they can take steps to make that future happen. It is made up of two key parts: the ability to think up different ways to reach your goals ( “pathways thinking”), and the motivation and determination to pursue those paths (“agency thinking”). When youth have hope, they are not just choosing to believe that things will somehow randomly get better. Rather, they are actively figuring out how to make good things happen in their lives, and understanding their own power to contribute along the way. This mindset and motivation is deeply linked to their ability to set goals, overcome obstacles, and persist even when things get tough. So, hope is less about how a teen feels emotionally in the moment and more about how they plan, believe, and move forward.
When youth have hope, they are not just choosing to believe that things will somehow randomly get better. Rather, they are actively figuring out how to make good things happen in their lives, and understanding their own power to contribute along the way.
Our Sample and Constructs
We surveyed a nationally representative sample of over 5,500 U.S. students aged 12 to 17, with a key subset of 2,472 completing the highly-regarded and validated Children’s Hope Scale. This scale measures a child’s belief that they can find paths to their goals (pathways), as well as their motivation to pursue those paths (agency). We then asked about their involvement in eight different types of school bullying and twelve different forms of cyberbullying over the past 30 days. We also controlled for demographic factors like age, gender, race, and sexual orientation to help isolate the specific role of hope.
Hope is a Protective Factor!
Turning to our results, we found that students with less hope than their peers were 56% more likely to cyberbully others over their lifetime, and 57% more likely over the last 30 days. Those with more hope were 36% less likely to cyberbully others over their lifetime and over the last 30 days when compared to their peers with lower levels of hope. The takeaway here is that hope matters. It buffers against the urge to aggress against others online.
I want to reiterate that hope, as studied in this context, is not just wishful thinking. Rather, it is an active process of setting goals, figuring out how to reach them, and believing in one’s ability to get there. Our findings suggest that when young people can envision a positive future for themselves – and believe they can make it happen – they are much less likely to risk it or compromise it in any way by engaging in harmful behaviors towards others. Conversely, when hope is low, youth may dysfunctionally cope and act out aggressively, arguably because they do not see a meaningful future worth guarding.
Our findings suggest that when young people can envision a positive future for themselves – and believe they can make it happen – they are much less likely to risk it or compromise it in any way by engaging in harmful behaviors towards others. Conversely, when hope is low, youth may dysfunctionally cope and act out aggressively, arguably because they do not see a meaningful future worth protecting.
Implications for Schools and Communities
If hope can be taught and cultivated, it should be a central part of our prevention efforts. Unfortunately, building hope is not a priority in most schools, likely due to resource gaps. This is unfortunate because research has been clear that building such social and emotional assets and cultural competencies is extremely fruitful in improving attendance, grades, overall well-being, and other key attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. Our research piece details how even brief interventions – like one-on-one counseling, scenario-based learning, and activities (individual or group) in which teens are assigned meaningful roles that foster agency – can enhance levels of hope among students. Hope therapy, which focuses on goal – setting and pathways thinking, is another promising approach. This involves a structured, curriculum-based program delivered through modules or sessions that guide youth to set meaningful goals, develop practical strategies to achieve them, and build the motivation to follow through on them. By teaching these skills in a systematic way, such as through classroom activities, hope therapy can help youth to pursue their dreams and, of course, avoid harmful behaviors.
Our research piece details how even brief interventions – like one-on-one counseling, scenario-based learning, and activities (individual or group) in which teens are assigned meaningful roles that foster agency – can enhance levels of hope among students.
A Call to Action Moving Forward
I have always been a strong proponent of Positive Youth Development and the field of positive psychology, and our research adds to a growing body of evidence showing that these assets matter. Hope doesn’t just make kids feel better – it can actually reduce the likelihood of them victimizing others. As educators, parents, and youth-serving professionals, we need to prioritize hope-building in our work. Whether through individual mentoring, group programs, or school-wide initiatives, fostering hope could be a key to not just reducing bullying and cyberbullying, but also promoting healthier, happier, and higher-achieving children.
The paper is open-access and should you have no issues downloading it. If you struggle, just email us and we’ll send it your way. We also welcome any questions or comments you might have. And we are now giving keynotes on hope with numerous actionable strategies you can implement in schools, organizations, and homes. Let’s start prioritizing skill-building in this area. I am confident we will see measurable results in due time.
Image source: Patrick Buck on Unsplash
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