Activating Hope across Life Circumstances in the Face of Adversity: A Concise Review

Myron L. Belfer, Kristy Stark, Kathryn Goetzke, Karen Kirby, C. Psychol and Veronica O’Brien ()
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Myron L. Belfer: Harvard Medical School, Boston Children’s Hospital Senior Associate in Psychiatry, Boston Children’s Hospital
Kristy Stark: Harvard Graduate School of Education
Kathryn Goetzke: iFred (International Foundation for Research and Education on Hope) Foundation, Hopeful Minds Initiative
Karen Kirby: Ulster University
C. Psychol: Harvard Medical School, Boston Children’s Hospital Senior Associate in Psychiatry, Boston Children’s Hospital
Veronica O’Brien: Georgia Southern University

Applied Research in Quality of Life, 2025, vol. 20, issue 3, No 4, 977-994

Abstract: Abstract The current state of the world has left uncertainty and despair for many, subsequently leading to increased risks in numerous areas of life (i.e., health, education, workplace, relationships) and overall wellbeing. Hope, as a stand-alone construct, is a protective factor against many mental and physical health conditions, while serving as a strategy to improve all areas of life. Moreover, research has found hope is teachable, measurable, and learnable. However, the skills of hope are not taught, leaving us susceptible to the risks associated with hopelessness if we do not know how to proactively manage it and grow our hope. The following narrative review provides a synthesis of hope-related research across numerous domains of life, provides evidence for hope as a teachable construct, and compiles evidence-based Hopeful Mindset and Hopeful Minds curriculums to help ignite the dissemination of its skills.

Keywords: Hope; Hopelessness; Health; Education; Workplace (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s11482-025-10446-w

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