Hopelessness in adolescent psychiatric inpatients

To study hopelessness in adolescent inpatients, we administered the Beck Hopelessness Scale to 108 inpatients between 12 and 17 years old who were diagnosed with mixed psychiatric disorders. Moderate to severe pessimism about the future was described by 42.6%. A principal components analysis of the correlations among the scale's 20 items was conducted, and three components reflecting rejection of the possibility of a hopeful future, acceptance of the inevitability of a hopeless future, and resignation to the futility of changing the future were identified. These dimensions were comparable to those previously reported for adults, and the usefulness of the scale for evaluating hopelessness in adolescent inpatients was discussed.