Hope and optimism as related to life satisfaction

Abstract

This study explored the hope and optimism constructs and their unique variances in predicting life satisfaction. The subscales (Agency and Pathways) of the Adult Hope Scale (Snyder, Harris et al., 1991 Snyder, CR , Harris, C , Anderson, JR , Holleran, SA , Irving, LM Sigmon, ST . 1991. The will and the ways: Development and validation of an individual-differences measure of hope. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60: 570–585. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] ) and optimism and pessimism as measured by the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R; Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994) were compared in terms of ability to predict life satisfaction as measured by the domain-specific Quality of Life Inventory (QOLI®; Frisch, 1994 Frisch, MB . 1994. Manual and treatment guide for the Quality of Life Inventory (QOLI), Minneapolis, MN: National Computer Systems. [Google Scholar] ; Study 1, N = 331) and the global measure Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985 Diener, E , Emmons, RA , Larsen, RJ and Griffin, S . 1985. The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49: 71–75. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] ; Study 2, N = 215). The Agency subscale of the Adult Hope Scale was the better predictor of life satisfaction in both studies. The implications of these findings for theory and measurement of hope and optimism are discussed.