The aim of the research was to design and assess the effectiveness of a hope
enhancement programme for a group of adults and the resulting influence on their
general psychological well-being.
The purpose of the programme was to increase hope, as conceptualised by Snyder
et al. (1991), by enhancing participants' abilities to set feasible goals, planning ways
to reach those goals (pathways) and increasing determination and motivation (agency)
towards goal achievement. The workshop-format programme, presented by the
researcher, consisted of six two-hour sessions spread over five days. The programme
was developed through incorporating suggestions from existing Hope literature
together with health psychological and positive psychology principles.
In order to determine the impact of the programme, four measurement instruments
were used, namely the Hope Scale, the Hunter Opinions and Personal Expectations
Scale (HOPES), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and the Sense of Coherence
scale (SOC-29). A pre and post-test design included an experimental group (n = 8),
control group (n = 8) and 'chat' group (n = 8). Prior to group compilation, screening
interviews were conducted with interested participants to exclude those who had
recently experienced trauma or displayed overt signs of psychological pathology. The
control group received no intervention, while the 'chat' group, of which the researcher
was also a member, was allowed to discuss topics of their choosing. The study groups
comprised both men and women of different ages and socio-economic status. All
participants were White and Afrikaans speaking.
Descriptive statistics, psychometric analysis of the measuring instruments and
significant differences between groups were calculated with the assistance of the
STATISTICA (version 6) computer programme (Statsoft Inc., 2003). Reliability
indices compared well with those recorded in the literature for the various scales. For
the experimental group, the findings indicated an increase in the hope levels as
reflected by significant improvement on the Hope Scale and the Hopefulness subscale
of the HOPES. Subjective feedback from the group confirmed these findings.
Psychological well-being improved, as shown by a significant increase in Sense of
Coherence (SOC-29) along with a positive change in Satisfaction with Life (SWLS).
Neither the control nor experimental groups revealed any significant changes.
It was established that the hope enhancement programme is effective in increasing
the levels of hope and general psychological well-being of a group of adults relatively
free of psychological pathology. Considering the findings, it is recommended that
future wellness intervention should not focus solely on individuals with established
psychological pathology, but also consider a preventative approach within the average
population. / Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/488 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Pretorius, Charl Johan |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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