Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T17:14:28.121Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Hope in the general Norwegian population, measured using the Herth Hope Index

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 2003

TONE RUSTØEN ,
ASTRID K. WAHL, ,
BERIT R. HANESTAD, ,
ANNERS LERDAL, ,
CHRISTINE MIASKOWSKI,  and
TORBJØRN MOUM
TONE RUSTØEN
Affiliation:
Oslo University College, Faculty of Nursing, Oslo, Norway
ASTRID K. WAHL,
Affiliation:
Oslo University College, Faculty of Nursing, Oslo, Norway
BERIT R. HANESTAD,
Affiliation:
University of Bergen, Department of Public Health and Primary Health Care, Bergen, Norway
ANNERS LERDAL,
Affiliation:
Buskerud University College, Faculty of Health and Division of Disaster Psychiatry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
CHRISTINE MIASKOWSKI,
Affiliation:
Department of Physiological Nursing, University of California, San Francisco
TORBJØRN MOUM
Affiliation:
Department of Behavioral Sciences in Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective: The aims of this study were to describe hope in a large sample that was drawn from the general Norwegian population and to examine how sociodemographic and health-related variables were related to hope.

Methods: Of 4,000 adult citizens, randomly drawn from the National Register, 1,912 (49%) returned the Norwegian version of the Herth Hope Index (HHI).

Results: When demographic and health-related variables were controlled for, age, gender, marital status, and employment status were significantly related to hope. The most important health-related variable was self-assessed health status, with participants who were satisfied with their health reporting significantly higher levels of hope. Participants who indicated that they had a chronic disease reported significantly higher hope scores compared to those without a chronic disease. Older men, individuals who were receiving a pension or were unemployed, and individuals who were widowed or unmarried reported the lowest levels of hope. In this study, an individual's subjective evaluation of his/her health was the most important health-related predictor of hope.

Significance of the research: The most important health-related variable that predicted hope was self-assessed health in that participants who were satisfied with their health reported higher levels of hope. This finding suggests that an individual's subjective assessment of health is a better predictor of hope than the presence a chronic disease. Knowledge about levels of hope in the general population can be used as reference values against which an individual score or a group mean may be compared.

Keywords

HopeHerth Hope IndexGeneral populationPredictors of hopeChronic illness
Type
Research Article
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 1 , Issue 4 , December 2003 , pp. 309 - 318
Copyright
© 2003 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Ayuso-Mateos, J.L., Vazquez-Barquero, J.L., Dowrick, & C., et al. (2001). Depressive disorders in Europe: Prevalence figures from the ODIN study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 179, 308–316.Google Scholar
Ballard, A., Green, T., McCaa, & A., et al. (1997). A comparison of the level of hope in patients with newly diagnosed and recurrent cancer. Oncology of Nursing Forum, 24, 899–904.Google Scholar
Beckie, T.M., Beckstead, J.W., & Webb, M.S. (2001). Modeling women's quality of life after cardiac events. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 23, 179–194.Google Scholar
Brackney, B.E. & Westman, A.S. (1992). Relationships among hope, psychosocial development, and locus of control. Psychological Reports, 70(3 Pt. 1), 864–866.Google Scholar
Chapman, K.J. & Pepler, C. (1998). Coping, hope, and anticipatory grief in family members in palliative home care. Cancer Nursing, 21, 226–234.Google Scholar
Dufault, K. & Martocchio, B.C. (1985). Symposium on compassionate care and the dying experience. Hope: Its spheres and dimensions. The Nursing Clinics of North America, 20, 379–391.Google Scholar
Ebright, P.R. & Lyon, B. (2002). Understanding hope and factors that enhance hope in women with breast cancer. Oncology of Nursing Forum, 29, 561–568.Google Scholar
Fayers, P.M. (2001). Interpreting quality of life data: Population-based reference data for the EORTC QLQ-C30. European Journal of Cancer, 37, 1331–1334.Google Scholar
Fowler, S.B. (1997). Hope and a health-promoting lifestyle in persons with Parkinson's disease. The Journal of Neuroscience Nursing, 29, 111–116.Google Scholar
Fromm, E. (1970). The revolution of hope: Toward a humanized technology. New York: Harper Colophon Books.
Fujita, F., Diener, E., & Sandvik, E. (1991). Gender differences in negative affect and well-being: The case for emotional intensity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 427–434.Google Scholar
Gibson, P.R. (1999). Hope in multiple chemical sensitivity: Social support and attitude towards healthcare delivery as predictors of hope. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 8, 275–283.Google Scholar
Greene, S.M. (1981). Levels of measured hopelessness in the general population. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 20, 11–14.Google Scholar
Guillemin, F., Bombardier, C., & Beaton, D. (1993). Cross-cultural adaptation of health-related quality of life measures: Literature review and proposed guidelines. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 46, 1417–1432.Google Scholar
Herth, K. (1990). Fostering hope in terminally-ill people. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 15, 1250–1259.Google Scholar
Herth, K. (1992). Abbreviated instrument to measure hope: Development and psychometric evaluation. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 17, 1251–1259.Google Scholar
Ihlebaek, C., Eriksen, H.R., & Ursin, H. (2002). Prevalence of subjective health complaints (SHC) in Norway. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 30, 20–29.Google Scholar
Jakobsson, A., Segesten, K., Nordholm, & L., et al. (1993). Establishing a Swedish instrument measuring hope. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 7, 135–139.Google Scholar
Kylma, J. & Vehvilainen-Julkunen, K. (1997). Hope in nursing research: A meta-analysis of the ontological and epistemological foundations of research on hope. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 25, 364–371.Google Scholar
Lin, C.C., Lai, Y.L., & Ward, S.E. (2003). Effect of cancer pain on performance status, mood states, and level of hope among Taiwanese cancer patients. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 25, 29–37.Google Scholar
Lynch, W.F. (1974). Images of hope. London: University of Notre Dame Press.
Miller, J.F. & Powers, M.J. (1988). Development of an instrument to measure hope. Nursing Research, 37, 6–10.Google Scholar
Ng, K.F., Tsui, S.L., & Chan, W.S. (2002). Prevalence of common chronic pain in Hong Kong adults. Clinical Journal of Pain, 18, 275–281.Google Scholar
Nowotny, M.L. (1989). Assessment of hope in patients with cancer: Development of an instrument. Oncology of Nursing Forum, 16, 57–61.Google Scholar
Raleigh, E.D. (1992). Sources of hope in chronic illness. Oncology of Nursing Forum, 19, 443–448.Google Scholar
Rustøen, T., Wahl, A.K., Hanestad, & B.R., et al. (2003). Hope in the general Norwegian population, measured using the Herth Hope Index. Palliative & Supportive Care, 1, 309–318.Google Scholar
Rustøen, T. & Wiklund, I. (2000). Hope in newly diagnosed patients with cancer. Cancer Nursing, 23, 214–219.Google Scholar
Seidlitz, L. & Diener, E. (1998). Sex differences in the recall of affective experiences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 262–271.Google Scholar
Snyder, C.R. (1995). Conceptualizing, measuring, and nurturing hope. Journal of Counseling & Development, 73, 355–360.Google Scholar
Snyder, C.R., Cheavens, J., & Michael, S.T. (1999). Hoping. In Coping: The psychology of what works, Snyder, C.R. (ed.), pp. 205–251. New York: Oxford University Press.
Snyder, C.R., Harris, C., Anderson, & J.R., et al. (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.Google Scholar
Stordal, E., Bjartveit Kruger, M., Dahl, & N.H., et al. (2001). Depression in relation to age and gender in the general population: The Nord-Trondelag Health Study (HUNT). Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia, 104, 210–216.Google Scholar
Tanaka, E. (1998). Hopelessness in a community population: Factorial structure and psychosocial correlates. Journal of Social Psychology, 138, 581–590.Google Scholar
Travelbee, J. (1966). Interpersonal aspects of nursing. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Co.
WHOQOL Group. (1996). What quality of life? The WHOQOL Group. World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment. World Health Forum, 17, 354–356.Google Scholar
WHOQOL Group. (1998). Development of the World Health Organization WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment. The WHOQOL Group. Psychological Medicine, 28, 551–558.Google Scholar