Hope in Iranian mothers of children with cancer: a descriptive correlational study.

PURPOSE: This study aims to examine the relationship between the level of hope in mothers who have a child with cancer and its related factors in Iran. METHOD: A cross-sectional and descriptive correlational design was used in this study. A demographic questionnaire and the Herth Hope Index (HHI) were administered to a sample of 240 mothers who have a child with cancer to assess level of hope. Mothers were also asked to indicate their highest priority hopes such as view of their supportive resources including financial support, psychosocial support, religiosity and spirituality. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics, Spearman's rho, independent sample t test and one-way ANOVA. RESULTS: The mean HHI score was 35.44 (n = 237). There was a positive correlation between HHI total score and spirituality (r = 0.267, P < 0.001), and psychosocial support (r = 0.281, P < 0.001). No significant differences were found between HHI total score and respondents who saw themselves as a religious person and the family financial support. There was a significant difference in HHI total scores for a mother who has a disabled child (M = 32.92, SD = 2.75; t (235) = 2.00, P = 0.046) and mothers of a child who do not have any disability besides their cancer (M = 35.59, SD = 4.91). No significant differences were found in the HHI total score and different group of the child's diagnoses and the mother's age or/and child's age. CONCLUSION: Mothers who have a child with cancer with better psychosocial and spiritual support showed a higher level of hope. A thorough knowledge of factors associated with hope in mothers caring for children suffering from cancer could provide a means to further advance the support delivered and the available resources given to the parents, especially the mothers.

Resilience and Hope Among Yazidi Women Released From ISIS Enslavement.

ABSTRACT: This study aimed to explore the levels of resilience and hope among Yazidi women who survived captivity by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and to examine its relationship with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety, and depressive symptoms. In this cross-sectional study, 139 formerly enslaved Yazidi women were assessed. The mean scores of resilience and hope were below the suggested cutoff means (M = 2.47, SD = 0.48, R = 1-5) and (M = 31.6, SD = 11.7, R = 8-64), respectively. Sociodemographic variables were not related to resilience and hope, other than those women who stayed in captivity for more than a 3-year period who reported significantly lower levels of hope (M = 28.36, SD = 11.69). Formerly enslaved Yazidi women who display higher levels of PTSD, generalized anxiety, and depression exhibit significantly lower levels of resilience and hope. Resilience and hope are therefore important concepts to explore in traumatized populations.

Does person-group fit matter? A further examination of hope and belongingness in academic enhancement groups.

Efforts have been made to support the academic success and address the retention of low academically performing college students; however, little is known about how these interventions are effective. This study builds upon recent findings that the hope and belongingness of college students in a group-based academic enhancement intervention were important factors in their academic success. Applying person-environment fit theory, this study assessed changes in an individual's hope and belongingness, changes in the group's hope and belongingness, and the interaction between changes in both an individual's hope and belongingness and the group's hope and belongingness (i.e., person-group fit) on the academic outcomes of 145 college students participating in 11 academic enhancement seminars. Results indicated that changes in a student's hope and belongingness were positively associated with changes in their academic self-efficacy, but not their academic performance, as measured by grade point average (GPA). However, the changes in the group's hope and belongingness moderated the relationship between students' changes in hope and belongingness and their academic performance, such that these relationships were stronger when the student fit with their group in regard to their perceived changes in hope and belongingness (i.e., high individual-high group change). This study provides further support for the importance of instilling hope and a sense of belongingness in students within academic enhancement groups, and the complex influence of group-level processes within these interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

'In the best case seizure-free' - Parental hopes and worries before and satisfaction after their child's epilepsy surgery.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to gain a better understanding of parental hopes and worries before and subsequent experiences two years after their child had undergone epilepsy surgery. METHODS: The parents of 107 children and young people who underwent epilepsy surgery at a single center completed surveys focusing on hopes and concerns before surgery and subsequent experiences at two-year follow-up. Responses were analyzed by thematic analysis. RESULTS: Before surgery, parental hopes focus on not only seizure freedom or reduction but also potential improvements in child development and emotional-behavioral functioning. Worries before surgery include not only potential injury or loss of skills but also a concern that the surgical procedure would not lead to an improvement in the child's seizures. The vast majority of parents experienced positive aspects at the two-year follow-up including seizure freedom or reduction but also perceived improvements in behavior, development, and sleep. This suggests that for many, expectations for the surgery were met. A small number of parents reported negative effects of surgery including loss of skills, worsening/lack of improvement in seizure frequency, or negative impact on development. SIGNIFICANCE: For the majority of parents whose children undergo surgery, expectations are met, and fears are not realized. Knowledge of parental hopes and worries before surgery as well as experiences after the operation is useful for improving pre- and postsurgical counseling.

Hope-related goal cognitions and daily experiences of fatigue, pain, and functional concern among lung cancer patients.

PURPOSE: Cross-sectional research suggests that thinking about multiple ways to reach goals (hope pathways) and the belief that one can reach them (hope agency) may be adaptive for lung cancer patients. We examined the between-person and within-person associations among aspects of hope agency and pathways thinking, daily fatigue, pain, and functional concerns (e.g., sense of independence, usefulness) among lung cancer patients during active treatment. METHODS: Data from a daily diary study were used to examine relations among hope agency, hope pathways, fatigue, pain, and functional concern in 50 patients with advanced lung cancer. Participants were accrued from one outpatient cancer center and completed the study between 2014 and 2015. RESULTS: Adjusting for covariates and the previous day's symptoms or concern, patients who engaged in higher pathways thinking reported lower daily symptoms, whereas those who engaged in higher agency thinking reported less functional concern. Within-person increases in pathways thinking were associated with less daily fatigue, pain, and functional concern; within-person increases in agency thinking were associated with less daily fatigue and pain. Models examining symptoms and concerns as predictors of hope suggested within-person increases in functional concern and fatigue and pain were related to lower agency and pathways thinking the same day. Patients with higher fatigue and pain did not report lower agency or pathways thinking, but patients with more functional concern did. CONCLUSIONS: Increases in hope pathways thinking may be associated with lower symptoms and better functioning in lung cancer patients. This suggests that it is important to determine the efficacy of interventions that emphasize the pathways the component of hope.

Hope in the Shadows: Testing the Immigrant Optimism Hypothesis Among College Aspirational Latino Students.

Scholars have proposed that immigrant optimism explains why some immigrant students outperform their United States-born peers academically. Yet, immigrant optimism has not been directly measured. This study aims to test the immigrant optimism hypothesis by operationalizing it using the Children's Hope Scale. Using structural equation modeling, the author examined the associations between hope, immigrant generation, citizenship status, and academic outcomes among a sample of 2,369 Latino 14- to 17-year-old students. Though no difference by immigrant generation was found, undocumented students were more hopeful than their documented peers. This finding suggests that the documentation status has an indirect relative effect on academic outcomes via hope. This article reexamines the immigrant optimism as a resource that could be fostered among Latino youth, regardless of immigrant status.

Greater Engagement in Gender-Sexuality Alliances (GSAs) and GSA Characteristics Predict Youth Empowerment and Reduced Mental Health Concerns.

Extracurricular groups can promote healthy development, yet the literature has given limited attention to indirect associations between extracurricular involvement and mental health or to sexual and gender minority youth. Among 580 youth (Mage  = 15.59, range = 10-20 years) and adult advisors in 38 Gender-Sexuality Alliances (GSAs), multilevel structural equation models showed that greater engagement in GSAs over the school year predicted increased perceived peer validation, self-efficacy to promote social justice, and hope (baseline adjusted). Through increased hope, greater engagement indirectly predicted reduced depressive and anxiety symptoms at the year's end (baseline adjusted). GSAs whose members had more mental health discussions and more meetings reported reduced mental health concerns. Findings suggest how groups addressing issues of equity and justice improve members' health.

Reliability and validity of short Beck Hopelessness Scale in psychological autopsy study among Chinese rural elderly.

BACKGROUND: Older adults represent the segment of population most exposed to the risk of suicide nearly everywhere in the world. Previous studies showed that hopelessness was an important risk factor for suicide. AIMS: This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the four-item Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS-4) in psychological autopsy study among Chinese rural elderly. METHOD: Two-stage stratified cluster sampling method was used to select research sites. Using case-control psychological autopsy study, face-to-face interviews were conducted to collected information. RESULTS: A total of 242 elderly suicide deaths and 242 matched living comparisons were investigated, including 135 males and 107 females for each group. Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) of the controls were 0.682-0.713. The median score of BHS-4 among suicides was significantly higher than that among controls. The corrected correlation coefficient between items and total score were 0.184-0.723. Cronbach's Alphas coefficient was 0.834. Only one common factor was precipitated by exploratory factor analysis and the cumulative variance contribution rates were 59.558% for suicides and 52.722% for living controls. The correlation coefficient between hopelessness and depression were 0.481 among suicide death and 0.617 among living controls. CONCLUSION: The information provided by the informants through psychological autopsy method had high reliability to reflect the actual situation of suicides and controls. BHS-4 has good reliability and validity among Chinese rural elderly suicides. It is suitable for psychological autopsy study among Chinese rural elderly.

When Is Hope Enough? Hopefulness, Discrimination and Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Allostatic Load.

Hopefulness is associated with better health and may be integral for stress adaptation and resilience. Limited research has prospectively examined whether hopefulness protects against physiological dysregulation or does so similarly for U.S. whites, blacks and Hispanics. We examined the association between baseline hopefulness and future allostatic load using data from the Health and Retirement Study (n = 8,486) and assessed differences in this association by race/ethnicity and experiences of discrimination. Four items measured hopefulness and allostatic load was a count of seven biomarkers for which a respondent's measured value was considered high-risk for disease. A dichotomous variable assessed whether respondents experienced at least one major act of discrimination in their lifetime. We used Poisson regression to examine the association between hopefulness and allostatic load and included a multiplicative interaction term to test racial/ethnic differences in this association. Subsequent analyses were stratified by race/ethnicity and tested the interaction between hopefulness and discrimination within each racial/ethnic group. Hopefulness was associated with lower allostatic load scores, but its effects varied significantly by race/ethnicity. Race-stratified analyses suggested that hopefulness was protective among whites and not associated with allostatic load among Hispanics irrespective of experiencing discrimination. Hopefulness was associated with lower allostatic load among blacks reporting discrimination but associated with higher allostatic load among those who did not. Findings suggest that hopefulness plays differing roles for older whites, blacks and Hispanics and, for blacks, its protective effects on physiological dysregulation are intricately tied to their experiences of discrimination.

The Relationship between Basic Hope and Depression: Forgiveness as a Mediator.

Although hope and forgiveness have been both negatively correlated with depression, actual relationships between all three variables have never been investigated. The aim of the study was to examine a theoretical model in which forgiveness mediates the relationship between basic hope and depressive symptoms. The sample was composed of 77 psychotherapy outpatients. Polish adaptations of the Basic Hope Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Heartland Forgiveness Scale were used. Negative and positive aspects of dispositional forgiveness of self, others, and situations beyond anyone's control were applied. Results indicated that the general level of forgiveness, as well as overcoming unforgiveness, fully mediated the relationship between basic hope and depression symptoms, while positive dimension of forgiveness partially mediated the links between the variables. The findings demonstrate that the tendency to forgive might be a mechanism via which basic hope reduces odds of depression.

Impulsivity, hostility and suicidality in patients diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder.

Background: There are limited data on suicidal behaviour in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This study aimed to evaluate several aspects affecting suicidality in OCD patients and determine whether impulsivity or hostility are associated with suicide attempts in this vulnerable group.Methods: Eighty-one patients with OCD were assessed by structured clinical interview for DSM-IV (SCID I), Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), Suicide Probability Scale (SPS), Barratt impulsivity scale-11 (BIS) and Scale for suicide ideation (SSI).Results: Of the 81 patients, 22 (27%) had suicide ideation, 29 (33%) attempted suicides with OCD and 30 (37%) OCD patients who never experienced suicide ideation nor attempted suicide. Suicide ideation was associated with high hopelessness, higher severity of OCD and the presence of aggressive obsessions. On the other hand, suicide attempts were associated with longer duration of untreated illness, cognitive impulsivity, higher severity of OCD symptoms and the presence of religious obsessions.Conclusion: Higher severity of OCD symptoms is associated with both suicide ideation and attempts. And while hopelessness was related to suicidal thoughts, cognitive impulsivity may have acted as a facilitating factor for suicide attempts. Higher frequency of symptoms like religious/ aggressive obsessions was also associated with suicidality. It is vital that patients with OCD undergo detailed assessment for suicide risk.Key pointsOCD is associated with a high risk for suicidal behaviour.Suicide ideation was associated with high levels of hopelessness, OCD severity, and the presence of aggressive obsessions.Suicide attempts were associated with longer duration of untreated illness, cognitive impulsivity, severity of OCD, and the presence of religious obsessions.

Reliability and Validity of the Adult Hope Scale among Nursing Home Residents with and without Cognitive Impairment.

Objectives: The current study aims to examine the reliability and validity of the Adult Hope Scale among older adults with and without cognitive impairment who were recently admitted to a nursing home.Methods: Sixty-four recently admitted nursing home residents, 32 of whom had cognitive impairment, were administered the Adult Hope Scale and measures of concurrent and divergent validity.Results: In this sample, the Adult Hope Scale demonstrated good to excellent reliability. The Adult Hope Scale also correlated as expected with measures of concurrent and divergent validity, thus supporting the validity of the scale to measure hope in older adults despite level of cognitive functioning.Conclusions: This study shows that the Adult Hope Scale is a reliable and valid measure of hope in this sample of older adults with and without cognitive impairment who were recently admitted to a nursing home. Given the small sample size, additional research on the psychometric properties of the utility of the Adult Hope Scale in older adults with and without cognitive impairment is warranted.Clinical Implications: These preliminary findings allow future researchers and clinicians to consider administration of the Adult Hope Scale to individuals with and without cognitive impairment living in long-term care facilities. Gathering additional data on the psychometrics of this measure will enable new directions in research involving self-report measures for older adults with cognitive impairment, and in the development of interventions involving hope to improve physical and mental health in long-term care residents.

Hopelessness and Other Depressive Symptoms in Adults 70 Years and Older as Predictors of All-Cause Mortality Within 3 Months After Acute Hospitalization: The Hospital-ADL Study.

OBJECTIVE: Depression among older adults predicts mortality after acute hospitalization. Depression is highly heterogeneous in its presentation of symptoms, whereas individual symptoms may differ in predictive value. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of individual cognitive-affective depressive symptoms during acute hospitalization and investigate the predictive value of both overall and individual cognitive-affective depressive symptoms for mortality between admission up to 3-month postdischarge among older patients. METHODS: A prospective multicenter cohort study enrolled 401 acutely hospitalized patients 70 years and older (Hospitalization-Associated Disability and impact on daily Life Study). The predictive value of depressive symptoms, assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale 15, during acute hospitalization on mortality was analyzed with multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: The analytic sample included 398 patients (M (SD) = 79.6 (6.6) years; 51% men). Results showed that 9.3% of participants died within 3 months, with symptoms of apathy being most frequently reported. The depression total score during hospitalization was associated with increased mortality risk (admission: odds ratio [OR] = 1.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.2-1.3; discharge: OR = 1.2, 95% CI = 1.2-1.4). Stepwise multiple logistic regression analyses yielded the finding that feelings of hopelessness during acute hospitalization were a strong unique predictor of mortality (admission: OR = 3.6, 95% CI = 1.8-7.4; discharge: OR = 5.7, 95% CI = 2.5-13.1). These associations were robust to adjustment for demographic factors, somatic symptoms, and medical comorbidities. CONCLUSIONS: Symptoms of apathy were most frequently reported in response to acute hospitalization. However, feelings of hopelessness about their situation were the strongest cognitive-affective predictor of mortality. These results imply that this item is important in identifying patients who are in the last phase of their lives and for whom palliative care may be important.

Living with alopecia areata: an online qualitative survey study.

BACKGROUND: Living with alopecia areata (AA) totalis and universalis (collectively referred to here as AA) involves unpredictable, sometimes rapid hair loss. There is currently no effective treatment and patients describe feelings of shock, loss, trauma and disrupted identity. Cultural meanings attached to hair and hair loss, including associations between hair and femininity, and hair loss and cancer may exacerbate distress. Consequently, wigs and make-up are frequently used as camouflage, but this can produce feelings of inauthenticity, shame and anxiety. OBJECTIVES: This article explores how meanings associated with hair and hair loss influence experiences of living with AA. We also aim to identify how this understanding might inform practice by healthcare professionals to best support patients to cope with the condition. METHODS: A total of 95 participants with AA completed an online qualitative survey about their experiences of living with the condition. Data were subjected to thematic analysis within a critical realist theoretical framework. RESULTS: The following four themes were identified: (i) It's (not) only hair; (ii) A restricted life; (iii) Abandon hope all ye who lose their hair and (iv) Seeking support in 'a highly personal journey'. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that negative cultural meanings of hair and hair loss are pervasive and may drive social avoidance and camouflage behaviours in people with AA. Normalizing social interactions with healthcare practitioners, significant others and peers were cited as pivotal to positive adjustment. Support groups and online forums were highly valued particularly as few had been offered specialist psychological support. Future research should develop and evaluate psychological support in order to address the specific challenges of living with AA.

Spirituality and quality of life in epilepsy and other chronic neurological disorders.

PURPOSE: The patients with neurological disorders often report a different quality of life (QoL), which is in part explained by clinical-pathological or psychosocial variables. This study evaluated spirituality in patients with chronic brain pathologies, aiming to clarify its specificity and position to a multidimensional model of QoL. METHODS: A hundred and ninety-nine adult patients with epilepsy (E) (n = 88), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (n = 32), ischemic vascular disorders (n = 29), tumors (n = 28), or multiple sclerosis (MS) (n = 22), and 66 healthy subjects were assessed using the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQoL) 100, Spiritual, Religious and Personal Beliefs (SRPB), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) for the QoL, spirituality, depression, and anxiety. The Multiple Ability Self-Report Questionnaire (MASQ) and neuropsychological tests evaluated the cognitive functions. RESULTS: Factor analysis of the SRPB, STAI, and BDI scores yielded four factors: Personal Meaning, Inner Freedom, Awe and Openness, and Mood. Quality of life and spirituality were very similar between the patient groups. In comparison with the controls, all of the patients showed worse QoL, spirituality, mood, and lexical-memory abilities, and the patients with MCI and brain vascular disorders (BVD) also revealed worse cognitive impairments. Trait anxiety, self-rated health, age, and the SRPB Inner independence and Hope and optimism facets predicted the patients' WHOQoL 100 total score; the spiritual, affective, and socioeconomic variables predicted many QoL domains, but diagnosis only affected the Physical domain. Anxiety, self-rated health, Hope and optimism, and Personal beliefs predicted the controls' WHOQoL 100 total score. CONCLUSIONS: Spirituality, as marked by the meaning of self, inner independence, and transcendence, is distinct from mood. It cooperates, together with the affective states, to determine the QoL of the patients with chronic brain pathologies whereas diagnosis has a limited impact. These findings support a multidimensional cross-disease model for the QoL in neurological disorders.

Bayes, time perception, and relativity: The central role of hopelessness.

Time judgement and time experience are distinct elements of time perception. It is known that time experience tends to be slow, or dilated, when depressed, but there is less certainty or clarity concerning how depression affects time judgement. Here, we use a Bayesian Prediction Error Minimisation (PEM) framework called 'distrusting the present' as an explanatory and predictive model of both aspects of time perception. An interval production task was designed to probe and modulate the relationship between time perception and depression. Results showed that hopelessness, a symptom of severe depression, was associated with the ordering of interval lengths, reduced overall error, and dilated time experience. We propose that 'distrusting the future' is accompanied by 'trusting the present', leading to the experiences of time dilation when depressed or hopeless. Evidence was also found to support a relative difference model of how hopelessness dilates, and arousal accelerates, the rate of experienced time.

An Asian study on clinical and psychological factors associated with personal recovery in people with psychosis.

BACKGROUND: Despite the rising recognition of personal recovery, there is a lack of research on personal recovery in individuals with psychosis in Singapore. This study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the QPR-15 using the CHIME personal recovery framework and to examine its associations with clinical recovery factors. METHODS: Sixty-six stable outpatients were recruited and assessed at two time points approximately 2 weeks apart. Convergent validity was examined through Spearman correlations with scores on CHIME-related psychological factors: connectedness (Ryff subscale- positive relations with others), hope (Herth Hope Index- abbreviated), identity (Ryff subscale- self-acceptance, Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness- Brief), meaning (World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-Brief Form), empowerment (Empowerment Scale). Pearson's correlation was used to examine the test-retest reliability, while Cronbach's alpha was used to examine internal consistency. The initial factor structure was evaluated via principal component analysis, Velicer's minimum average partial (MAP) criteria, parallel analysis, and a scree plot. Spearman correlations and hierarchical multiple linear regression (controlling for age and gender) were employed to examine the association of clinical (symptoms and functioning) and psychological factors with the QPR-15. RESULTS: The QPR-15 demonstrated convergent validity with all CHIME-related psychological factors (rs ranged from 0.472 to 0.687). Internal consistency was excellent (Cronbach's alpha = 0.934), and test-retest reliability was adequate (r = 0.708). Initial factor structure evaluations revealed a one-factor model. Correlations of clinical factors with the QPR-15 were mostly low (rs ranged from - 0.105 to - 0.544) but significant, except for depressive symptoms (CDSS: rs = - 0.529 to - 0.544), while correlations were moderate for psychological factors. Clinical factors significantly explained 28.3-31.8% of the variance of the QPR-15. Adding psychological factors significantly increased the model variance at baseline (∆ adjusted R2 = 0.369, F change < 0.001) and at time point 2 (∆ adjusted R2 = 0.208, F change < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Our results provide preliminary evidence that the QPR-15 has adequate psychometric properties in Singapore and encompasses the CHIME personal recovery framework. In addition, our results suggest that clinical recovery and personal recovery are not substitutes for each other but rather are complementary, thereby promoting a more holistic evaluation of recovery in people with psychosis. Implications are discussed.

Cognitive bias modification for inferential style.

In this study, we developed a cognitive bias modification procedure that targets inferential style, and tested its effect on hope, mood, and self-esteem. Participants were randomly assigned to training conditions intended to encourage either a negative or a positive inferential style. Participants' inferences for their failure on a cognitive challenge were congruent with their training condition. Moreover, compared to participants in the positive training condition, those in the negative condition reported less hope and exhibited lower mood and self-esteem following the failure. Finally, the training affected mood and self-esteem indirectly via its effect on participants' inferences for their failure. These findings provide support for the causal role of inferential style in depressed affect.

Hope and mealtime insulin boluses are associated with depressive symptoms and glycemic control in youth with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Adherence to treatment regimen is associated with improved glycemic control and is particularly problematic during adolescence for those with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Both glycemic control and adherence may be negatively impacted by poor psychological outcomes in adolescence, such as depressive symptoms and low hopefulness. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between the mealtime insulin bolus score (BOLUS), a more robust proxy measure of adherence than frequency of blood glucose monitoring or self-report, with depressive symptoms, hope, and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). Ninety adolescents completed measures of hope (Children's Hope Scale) and depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale), as well as lab-based measures of HbA1c and mealtime insulin bolus scores (BOLUS). Higher levels of hope were associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms, more frequent mealtime insulin boluses, and better glycemic control. Higher levels of BOLUS behavior were associated with lower depressive symptoms and better glycemic control. Both BOLUS behavior and hope independently and significantly impacted the relationship between depressive symptoms and HbA1c, suggesting a possible mediation. Since hope and BOLUS were each associated with the relationship between depressive symptoms and glycemic control, following confirmation of this relationship in a longitudinal study, clinics may consider measuring hope and BOLUS among youth with high depressive symptoms and further investigating BOLUS behavior and hope as potential intervention targets to improve glycemic control.

Grip strength and quality of life in the second half of life: hope as a moderator.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the current study was to investigate grip strength, hope, and their interaction as predictors of quality of life four years later in a nationally representative sample of older adults. METHOD: Data were derived from the first (2005-2006) and second wave (2009) of the Israeli component of the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE; N = 344). Hope was measured by three items from the Hope   Scale, and quality of life was measured by the CASP-12 (Control, Autonomy, Self-Realization, and Pleasure). Multiple regression analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Grip strength at T1 predicted QoL in T2, but hope was not a significant predictor. Furthermore, hope moderated the effect of handgrip on QoL, such that the effect was weaker for higher levels of hope. CONCLUSION: As hypothesized, hope acted as a moderator, such that poor grip strength was associated with worse QoL for less hopeful older adults, but grip strength was not associated with QoL for more hopeful older adults. Findings are consistent with a theoretical conceptualization of hope as a buffer between physical challenges and negative outcomes like QoL. Encouraging a hopeful perspective could enhance QoL for older adults with decreased muscle strength.