Original Research

Factor structure of the Dispositional Hope Scale amongst South Africans: An exploratory structural equation modelling study

Itumeleng P. Khumalo, Tharina Guse
African Journal of Psychological Assessment | Vol 4 | a66 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/ajopa.v4i0.66 | © 2022 Itumeleng P. Khumalo, Tharina Guse | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 05 July 2021 | Published: 31 January 2022

About the author(s)

Itumeleng P. Khumalo, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
Tharina Guse, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract

Snyder’s model of hope conceptualises and operationalises hope as a cognitive, trait-like bi-dimensional future-oriented construct consisting of pathways thinking and agency thinking for goal achievement. The present study implemented exploratory structural equation modelling (ESEM) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the Dispositional Hope Scale, using data from two South African student samples (n = 383, 48% female, 21.70 years average age and n = 251, 68% female, 20.55 years average age), with the aim to examine its factor structure in an African context. The results showed that a six item unidimensional solution of hope fit the data best. This model characterises hope as the ability to make plans, informed by past experiences and to spontaneously manoeuvre around obstacles as any situation may call for it. This finding has implications for the measurement of hope and development of emic operational models in an African context.

Keywords

hope; Dispositional Hope Scale; measurement; structural equation modelling; factor analysis

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Crossref Citations

1. Hope that Benefits Others: A Systematic Literature Review of Hope Theory and Prosocial Outcomes
Zachary Schornick, Nolan Ellis, Elizabeth Ray, Bobbi-Jo Snyder, Kendra Thomas
International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology  year: 2023  
doi: 10.1007/s41042-022-00084-0