Hope and Healing: Initial Analysis of a New Integrative Hope Theory

Research has shown that hope is essential both in the context of everyday life and illness. Despite its importance, there is no consensual definition of hope. This dissertation has focused on an initial testing of some premises of a new Integrative Hope Theory (IHT) (Balen & Merluzzi, 2021).
Specifically, that a) the theorized underlying structure of hope is a two-dimensional configuration that consists of uncertainty and control, b) that depending on the situation (high/low uncertainty/control) participants are more likely to engage in specific hope processes/qualities to maintain hope (i.e., rely on personal skills/self-efficacy, persevere over time, or trusting others/God), and c) to assess specific variables that moderate the importance of control and uncertainty and, therefore, the appraisal of hope (i.e., spirituality, locus of control, and intolerance of uncertainty).
One hundred participants were recruited. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) revealed that hope consists of two-dimension configuration including a control dimension and a second dimension which was defined by meaning in relation to topic (illness). INDSCAL (Individual Differences Scaling) weights revealed that all participants valued the control dimension more, and that participants with higher spirituality levels and higher intolerance of uncertainty (IO) valued the meaning dimension more compared to participants with lower scores on those same scales. Higher scores on the external-LOC were associated with a greater weight on dimension 2, compared to higher scores on the internal-LOC. Finally, the one-way repeated measure MANOVA partially supported the hypothesis that depending on the specific situation, some hope processes may be more relevant than others to maintain hope.
The IHT is comprehensive in scope, based in well-established psychological theory, and has heuristic value for accounting for the role of hope in everyday life, in extraordinary circumstances such as serious illness, and in hopelessness. The results partially supported the theory, but there were exceptions.

已有研究表明，希望在日常生活与疾病场景中均发挥着不可或缺的作用。尽管其重要性不言而喻，但学界目前尚未就希望的定义达成共识。本论文聚焦于对全新整合希望理论（Integrative Hope Theory, IHT）（Balen与Merluzzi，2021）的部分前提进行初步验证。
具体而言，本研究验证了三大前提：其一，理论假设的希望内在结构为双维度构型，包含不确定性与掌控感两个维度；其二，在不同情境（高/低不确定性/掌控感）下，参与者更倾向于通过特定的希望加工过程或特质来维持希望（例如依托个人技能与自我效能感、长期坚持，或是信任他人与神明）；其三，评估可调节掌控感与不确定性重要性、进而影响希望评价的特定变量（即灵性特质、控制点（locus of control）以及不确定性容忍度（intolerance of uncertainty, IO））。
本研究共招募了100名参与者。多维尺度分析（Multidimensional Scaling, MDS）结果显示，希望的双维度构型包含掌控感维度，以及第二个由与主题（疾病）相关的意义所定义的维度。个体差异多维尺度分析（Individual Differences Scaling, INDSCAL）权重结果表明，所有参与者均更重视掌控感维度；且相较于在灵性特质与不确定性容忍度量表上得分较低的参与者，得分较高者对意义维度的重视程度更高。相较于内控型控制点得分较高者，外控型控制点得分较高者的第二维度权重更大。最后，单因素重复测量多元方差分析（one-way repeated measure MANOVA）部分验证了该假设：在特定情境下，部分希望加工过程相较于其他过程更有助于维持希望。
整合希望理论（IHT）涵盖范围广泛，基于成熟的心理学理论构建，可为解释希望在日常生活、重症等特殊情境乃至绝望状态中的作用提供启发价值。本研究结果部分验证了该理论，但也存在部分例外情况。