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. 2015 Jun 24;10(6):e0130073.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0130073. eCollection 2015.

Hope and Hopelessness: The Role of Hope in Buffering the Impact of Hopelessness on Suicidal Ideation

Jenny M Y Huen  1 , Brian Y T Ip  2 , Samuel M Y Ho  3 , Paul S F Yip  4
Affiliations

Hope and Hopelessness: The Role of Hope in Buffering the Impact of Hopelessness on Suicidal Ideation

Jenny M Y Huen et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objectives: The present study investigated whether hope and hopelessness are better conceptualized as a single construct of bipolar spectrum or two distinct constructs and whether hope can moderate the relationship between hopelessness and suicidal ideation.

Methods: Hope, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation were measured in a community sample of 2106 participants through a population-based household survey.

Results: Confirmatory factor analyses showed that a measurement model with separate, correlated second-order factors of hope and hopelessness provided a good fit to the data and was significantly better than that of the model collapsing hope and hopelessness into a single second-order factor. Negative binomial regression showed that hope and hopelessness interacted such that the effect of hopelessness on suicidal ideation was lower in individuals with higher hope than individuals with lower hope.

Conclusions: Hope and hopelessness are two distinct but correlated constructs. Hope can act as a resilience factor that buffers the impact of hopelessness on suicidal ideation. Inducing hope in people may be a promising avenue for suicide prevention.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: Co-author Prof. Ho Mun Yin (Samuel M. Y. Ho) is a member of the PLOS ONE editorial board. There are no further patents, products in development or marketed products to declare. This does not alter the authors' adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Hope and Hopelessness as Two Separate Constructs.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Interaction between Hope and Hopelessness within the Context of Suicidal Ideation.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Interaction Plot of Hope Moderating Hopelessness in Predicting Suicidal Ideation.
Level of hope (as measured by the Hope Scale) moderates the relationship between hopelessness (as measured by the Beck Hopelessness Scale) and suicidal ideation (as measured by the Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire). For individuals high on hope (scoring one standard deviation above the mean on the Hope Scale), there is smaller increase in suicidal ideation at higher levels of hopelessness than individuals low on hope (scoring one standard deviation below the mean on the Hope Scale).
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