Children's Hope Scale (CHS)

General Information on the Measure
Purpose of the measure

The Children's Hope Scale (CHS) is a six-item self-report measure of children's perceptions that their goals can be met.

Main constructs measured

Intrapersonal competencies

Applicable grade levels

Children ages 8 to 16

Publication year for the most recent version

1997

Year originally developed

1997

Related measures
Measure Administration
Respondent

Student

Method of administration

Paper/Pencil

Number of items

Six

Item format

Six-point Likert-type scale

Administration time

Fewer than 10 minutes

Available languages

English

Fee for use Access may be limited or unavailable
Credentials required for administration

None

Scoring
Overall score reporting

A total hope score is reported.

Subscore reporting

No subscores are reported.

Scoring procedures

No information is available in the references reviewed.

Interpretive information

No information is available in the references reviewed.

Evidence of Technical Quality
Populations for which technical quality evidence has been collected

Several samples were used, including 4th to 7th grade students (N=372) from Oklahoma and five other samples of children with a range of physical illnesses (Snyder et al., 1997).

Reliability evidence

Internal consistency estimates (alpha) for the samples ranged from 0.72 to 0.86. Test-retest reliability estimates (over a one-month interval) ranged from 0.71 to 0.73 (Snyder et al., 1997).

Validity evidence
Evidence based on content
The initial item pool was developed based on expert review (Snyder et al., 1997).
Evidence based on response processes
Cognitive interviews with children in a pilot study were used to get feedback about item clarity (Snyder et al., 1997).
Evidence based on internal structure
Factor analysis showed two distinct subscales. Scores were invariant across age groups, gender, and race/ethnicity (Snyder et al., 1997).
Evidence based on relations with other variables
Scores correlated significantly and in the theorized direction with external measures of similar constructs, including observer ratings of hope, and self-ratings of self-worth and depression (Snyder et al., 1997).
Locating the Measure
Obtaining a copy of the measure academic.oup.com
References

Snyder, C. R., Hoza, B., Pelham, W. E., Rapoff, M., Ware, L., Danovsky, M., ... & Stahl, K. J. , "The development and validation of the Children’s Hope Scale," Journal of Pediatric Psychology, Vol. 22, No. 3, 1997, pp. 399–421.

Notes

Measure summary updated October 3, 2018.