1. I have enough time to finish the things I really want to do.
2. All I can see ahead of me are bad things‚ not good things.
3. When I grow up‚ I think I will be happier than I am now.
4. I don’t think I will have any real fun when I grow up.
5. I will have more good times than bad times.
6. There’s no use in really trying to get something I want because I probably won’t get it.
Evaluated psychometric features and correlates of the Hopelessness Scale for Children‚ developed by the 1st author and colleagues ‚ among 262 6–13 yr old psychiatric inpatients. Ss also completed or were evaluated on the Child Behavior Checklist‚ the Children’s Depression Inventory‚ and the Self-Esteem Inventory. Results indicate that the scale was internally consistent‚ that item–total score correlations and test–retest reliability (over a 6-wk period) were moderate‚ and that individual items discriminated high- and low-hopelessness children. As predicted‚ hopelessness correlated positively with depression and negatively with self-esteem and social behavior. Overall‚ the relation of hopelessness to selected facets of affective and social functioning closely paralleled results obtained with adults. This scale may be useful in investigating antecedents of negative expectations toward the future‚ the developmental course of these expectations‚ and the extent to which they predict subsequent dysfunction (e.g.‚ suicidal behavior) in adolescence and adulthood. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA‚ all rights reserved)
This tool touches on the following keywords:
· Personal Attitudes and Beliefs
· Goals and Future
This instrument can be found on page 113 of Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes‚ Behaviors‚ and Influences Among Youths: A Compendium of Assessment Tools‚ available online at: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/YV_Compendium.pdf
Point values for items 2‚ 4 and 6 are assigned as follows:
Strongly agree=4‚ Agree=3‚ Disagree=2‚ Strongly disagree=1
Items 1‚ 3 and 5 are reverse coded. Point values are summed for each respondent and divided by the number of items. The intended range of scores is 1-4‚ with a higher score indicating more hopelessness.
Kazdin AE‚ Rodgers A‚ Colbus D. The Hopelessness Scale for Children: psychometric characteristics and concurrent validity. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 1986;54(2):241-245.
Kazdin‚ Alan E.; Rodgers‚ Antoinette; Colbus‚ Debra. The Hopelessness Scale for Children: Psychometric characteristics and concurrent validity. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology‚ Vol 54(2)‚ Apr 1986‚ 241-245.