Hope and Anxiety: A Meta-analytic Review

As the prevalence of anxiety disorders increases, there is rising interest in factors that protect against and alleviate anxiety. One such factor is hope, or the positive expectancy of utilizing pathways and agency to accomplish one's goals. The present study is a Meta-analytic review of literature examining associations between hope and anxiety in its various forms. The primary aim was to determine if greater hope was associated with lower anxiety cross-sectionally, longitudinally, and across diagnostic boundaries. A comprehensive literature review identified 129 studies with 155 unique effect sizes (ES) that met eligibility criteria, 102 (108 unique ES) of which examined the cross-sectional relationship between hope and trait anxiety (n = 31,514). The weighted, standardized mean ESr (-0.36, 95% CI [-0.38, -0.32]) reflected a moderate inverse relationship, while the longitudinal ES (k = 11) was slightly weaker (r = -0.27, 95% CI [-0.38, -0.17]. Mean ESs for the relationships between hope and disorder-specific anxiety were comparable in strength; the largest effect was seen between hope and social anxiety disorder. Moderator analysis indicated that the cross-sectional relationship between hope and trait anxiety was not impacted by sample type, but not by gender or age group. This systematic review demonstrates that hope is prospectively and cross-sectionally associated with lower levels of trait-level anxiety. In addition to being a robust predictor of lower trait anxiety, hope is associated with less disorder-specific anxiety. These findings indicate that hope is an impactful source of resilience that could be targeted in interventions for anxiety.