Establishing a Swedish instrument measuring hope

Hope has been identified as an important component for individuals coping with stress in life-threatening situations. The purpose of this study was to establish a Swedish instrument measuring hope. The instrument is based on an American hope scale developed by J.F. Miller to measure hope in adults. The Miller Hope Scale (MHS) is a 40-item 5-point Likert-type scale with a score range of 40-200. The MHS was translated into Swedish and examined in three stages before it was tested on a group of nursing students (n = 120). The test results in the Swedish sample were in accordance with Miller's evaluation of the psychometric properties of the MHS. The mean hope score was 170.4 (SD = 16.52) and the internal alpha coefficient was 0.88. The factor analysis on the Swedish sample resulted in the factors: I. Satisfaction with self, others and life; II. Avoidance of hope threats; III. Ability, capacity to influence the outcome in life.