Hopelessness in inpatient youths: a closer look at behavior, emotional expression, and social support

To examine the individual and family characteristics of children and adolescents with high levels of hopelessness.

One hundred inpatient youngsters participated in the study. Several measures, including the Hopelessness Scale for Children, Problem Behavior Scale of the Scales of Independent Behavior, Social Support Questionnaire-Revised, Pediatric Anger Expression Scale, and Differential Emotions Scale, were used to compare differences between youngsters who scored high or low on hopelessness.

The results indicated that youngsters with high hopelessness scores tended to perceive their families and peers as providing little support, to express their anger overtly and aggressively, and to demonstrate more negative emotions than youngsters with low hopelessness scores.

Hopelessness in youths appears to be associated with a specific pattern of behavioral and emotional problems. Clinical implications of the findings include integrating anger management, emotional expression interventions, and involving the family in treatment to enhance the social support network of youngsters with high levels of hopelessness.