Refining the Assessment of Hopelessness: An Improved Way to Look to the Future

Fisher, Lauren; Overholser, James C.

doi:10.1080/07481187.2011.628437

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The sizes of the 2-week retest correlations for the brief measures reported in our non-clinical sample (0.67 and 0.72) are similar to those reported for the BHS in a sample of university undergraduates over a 3-week retest interval (0.67, female students) or a 10-week interval (0.75) 25 26. Studies assessing the retest reliability of hopelessness instruments have reported varying retest intervals.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Identifying hopelessness in population research: a validation study of two brief measures of hopelessness

et al. 2014

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ObjectiveHopelessness is an important construct in psychosocial epidemiology, but there is great pressure on the length of questionnaire measures in large-scale population and clinical studies. We examined the validity and test–retest reliability of two brief measures of hopelessness, an existing negatively worded two-item measure of hopelessness (Brief-H-Neg) and a positively worded version of the same instrument (Brief-H-Pos).DesignCohort study.SettingControl arm of the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening.ParticipantsA non-clinical research-based sample of 5000 postmenopausal women selected from 56 512 participants.Primary and secondary outcome measuresSpearman's rank correlation of brief measures of hopelessness with the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS). Spearman's rank correlation with the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and change in mean score on repeat testing.MethodsTwo short hopelessness measures, a negatively worded brief measure of hopelessness (Brief-H-Neg) and a positively worded brief measure of hopelessness (Brief-H-Pos), were administered by postal questionnaire to 5000 women together with the 20-item BHS and 20-item CES-D. The Brief-H-Neg and Brief-H-Pos were readministered to 500 women after a 2-week interval.Results2413 postmenopausal women (mean age 68.9 years) completed the questionnaire. The Brief-H-Neg and Brief-H-Pos correlated 0.93 and 0.87 with the BHS after correction for attenuation and their association with the CES-D mirrored that seen with the BHS (Spearman's rank correlation 0.88 and 0.68, respectively). There was no change in mean scores on the two measures with repeat testing in the 433 women who completed them and test–retest reliability was good (intraclass correlations Brief-H-Neg 0.67 and Brief-H-Pos 0.72).ConclusionsThese findings provide support for the validity of the Brief-H-Neg and Brief-H-Pos. These brief measures are likely to be useful in large population studies assessing hopelessness.Trial registration numberNCT00058032.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Identifying hopelessness in population research: a validation study of two brief measures of hopelessness

et al. 2014

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“…A similar item behavior was observed by Durham [7] who found that item #13 had the same item difficulty in a student sample as in psychiatric samples. In the following studies, one or more of the problematic items exhibited low item-total correlations or very low factor loadings: Aloba, Ajao, Alimi and Esan [37], Fisher and Overholser [38], Perczel Forintos, Sallai and Rózsa [39], Pompili, Tatarelli, Rogers and Lester [40], Steed [41], Szabó et al [17], Tanaka, Sakamoto, Ono, Fujihara and Kitamura [15], Young, Halper, Clark, and Scheftner [35]. However, the undesired properties of these items are not universal.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychometric properties and measurement invariance of the Beck hopelessness scale (BHS): results from a German representative population sample

Kliem

Lohmann

Mößle³

et al. 2018

BMC Psychiatry

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BackgroundThe Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) has been the most frequently used instrument for the measurement of hopelessness in the past 40 years. Only recently has it officially been translated into German. The psychometric properties and factor structure of the BHS have been cause for intensive debate in the past.MethodsBased on a representative sample of the German population (N = 2450) item analysis including item sensitivity, item-total correlation and item difficulty was performed. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) for several factor solutions from the literature were performed. Multiple group factor analysis was performed to assess measurement invariance. Construct validity was assessed via the replication of well-established correlations with concurrently assessed measures.ResultsMost items exhibited adequate properties. Items #4, #8 and #13 exhibited poor item characteristics– each of these items had previously received negative evaluations in international studies. A one-dimensional factor solution, favorable for the calculation and interpretation of a sum score, was regarded as adequate.A bi-factor model with one content factor and two method factors (defined by positive/negative item coding) resulted in an excellent model fit. Cronbach’s alpha in the current sample was .87. Hopelessness, as measured by the BHS, significantly correlated in the expected direction with suicidal ideation (r = .36), depression (r = .53) and life satisfaction (r = −.53). Strict measurement invariance could be established regarding gender and depression status. Due to limited research regarding the interpretation of fit indices with dichotomous data, interpretation of CFA results needs to remain tentative.ConclusionThe BHS is a valid measure of hopelessness in various subgroups of the general population. Future research could aim at replicating these findings using item response theory and cross-cultural samples. A one-dimensional bi-factor model seems appropriate even in a non-clinical population.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12888-018-1646-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…Future studies may be able to examine whether the present findings generalize to outpatient psychiatry clinics, general medical centers, and community controls. More streamlined versions of the Hopelessness Scale could facilitate the efficient monitoring of pessimistic expectations in a variety of settings, [45] such as primary care clinics or school-based settings. The BHS is best viewed as a brief screening measure that can be followed by more thorough interview measures when hopelessness exceeds minimal or mild levels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Despair Beyond Repair? Severity Of Hopelessness In Depressed Psychiatric Inpatients.

Overholser

Fisher

Braden

et al. 2015

JDT

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Background: Depression is related to suicidal ideation, attempts, and completion. However, depression fails to provide any specific identification for suicide risk. Hopelessness has been found to provide a more accurate estimate of suicide risk than seen in depression severity, and hopelessness can serve as a useful predictor of eventual death by suicide. Aims: The present study was designed to examine various levels of hopelessness and their association with other symptoms experienced by depressed psychiatric inpatients. Method: 150 adult psychiatric inpatients were evaluated using a structured diagnostic interview and several standardized self-report questionnaires. All patients met criteria for a depressive diagnosis at the time of the evaluation. Patients were classified into four discrete categories of hopelessness using the Beck Hopelessness Scale. Results: No differences were observed when the four groups of depressed psychiatric inpatients were compared on demographic variables and background clinical events. However, several key differences were observed between groups on measures of depression severity, suicidal ideation, and tendencies to cope by distraction.Conclusions: It appears useful to evaluate suicide risk as it changes across different levels of hopelessness. Depressed patients with higher levels of hopelessness report more severe problems on several dimensions related to suicide risk.

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Refining the Assessment of Hopelessness: An Improved Way to Look to the Future

Cited by 7 publications

References 47 publications

Identifying hopelessness in population research: a validation study of two brief measures of hopelessness

Identifying hopelessness in population research: a validation study of two brief measures of hopelessness

Psychometric properties and measurement invariance of the Beck hopelessness scale (BHS): results from a German representative population sample

Despair Beyond Repair? Severity Of Hopelessness In Depressed Psychiatric Inpatients.

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