Examination of the Validity of the Chinese Version of the Children’s Hope Scale Among Chinese Adolescents

Given possible developmental and/or cultural differences in the meaning and levels of hope among children, we evaluated the validity, measurement invariance, and latent mean differences for the Chinese version of the Children’s Hope Scale (CHS) across gender. Our sample comprised 2045 Chinese adolescents (46.4% men), with a mean age of 12.94 years. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) supported one-factor and two-factor models. Cronbach’s alphas, mean inter-item correlations, and test–retest coefficients supported their reliability for both models. Also, multigroup CFA for both models indicated measurement invariance across gender. Analyses of latent means revealed no significant gender differences for the CHS total or Agency factor. However, men scored higher than women on the Pathways factor. Such differences suggest consideration of gender when assessing and promoting hope in Chinese adolescents.

Moderating role of hope in the relationship between perceived discrimination and life satisfaction among left-behind children in China

We examined the moderating role of hope in the relationship between perceived discrimination and life satisfaction among left-behind children in China. Participants were 588 left-behind pupils at three rural primary schools, who completed the Children's Hope Scale, the Perceived Discrimination Questionnaire of the Left-Behind Children, and the Students' Life Satisfaction Scale. Results show that there were significant correlations between the perceived discrimination, hope, and life satisfaction of our participants. In addition, hope significantly alleviated the negative effect of perceived discrimination on life satisfaction. We can conclude that perceived discrimination and hope both significantly predicted life satisfaction, and hope moderated the effect of perceived discrimination on life satisfaction among left-behind children in China. Our findings have implications for school teachers and social workers to help reduce left-behind children's hurt resulting from perceived discrimination.

Hope among refugee children attending the International School of Peace on Lesbos

The study focuses on refugee children who live in a temporary transit camp on the Island of Lesbos in Greece, and attend a unique school, which, in the camp’s temporary conditions, endeavours to provide the children with safety, security, and an adaptive learning experience. It examines hope among the refugee children by means of the Children’s Hope Scale (Snyder, 1997), which was administered to 132 children aged 6-16 who attend the school. The general hope scores among the refugee children were similar to those found in other children’s populations. Hope scores in the Adolescent group (aged 12-16) were lower than in the other groups, and highest in the Intermediate group (aged 9-12). Additionally, differences were found between groups of children from different countries of origin. The findings indicate that the Adolescent children are more aware of the difficulties and dangers entailed in fleeing, and of the price they have paid for leaving their homes and being cut off from their extended family and community. The findings highlight the school’s contribution as a space, albeit temporary, where the children can function normatively as students in a safe environment that enables new growth in cognitive, emotional, and social realms.