Dispositional Hope and the Propensity to Cope

The authors examined the predictive ability of dispositional hope components (pathways, agency) in explaining minority adolescents' consistent use of daily coping strategies. Using daily diary methodology, 126 low socioeconomic status minority participants completed a multidimensional measure of dispositional hope and reported on subsequent stressful events that they experienced and the coping strategies that they employed over the course of a 5-day period. Multilevel modeling analyses revealed that hope–pathways was uniquely and positively related to direct problem solving, planning, positive thinking, religious coping, distracting action, and overall coping use. Hope–agency was uniquely and positively associated with instrumental support for actions. Discussion focuses on the role of hope as a protective factor for minority adolescents experiencing stress, and particularly the unique predictive ability of each hope component.