A predictive model of hopefulness for adolescents

To develop a predictive model of hopefulness using the variables of age, gender, and self-esteem among a sample of adolescents with cancer and a sample of healthy adolescents.

Forty-five healthy adolescents were individually matched with 45 adolescents with cancer on the basis of gender and age. Of the 90 subjects included in this study, 48 were male and 42 were female; half of the males (n = 24) and half of the females (n = 21) had cancer. Perceived level of self-esteem was measured using the Coppersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI), and their degree of hopefulness was measured with the Hopefulness Scale for Adolescents (HSA). Data were analyzed using the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) Version 8.

Adolescents' perceived level of self-esteem and hopefulness did not differ by gender or disease status. Patients with cancer had a significantly higher mean hopefulness score than healthy subjects (p = .031), and those adolescents with cancer did not have a lower perceived sense of self-esteem than healthy adolescents. The correlation coefficients between SEI and HSA were statistically significant for females with cancer, r = 0.723 (p < .001) and for healthy females, r = 0.676 (p < .001). In contrast, the correlations between SEI and HSA for males were not statistically significant. A model was constructed to predict a subject's hopefulness score that included the variables of self-esteem (p < .001), gender (p = .001), disease status (p = .005), and the interaction between self-esteem and gender (p = .002).

The findings of this study demonstrate that hopefulness is a coping strategy used by female adolescents, both healthy and ill, that is closely related to their perceived sense of self-esteem.