Psychometric Characteristics of Persian Version of Adult Hope Scale (AHS) in Iranian Females with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Abstract

Background: Hope is essential for MS patients to recognize favorable genetically challenging conditions and develop a positive outlook on life. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric characteristics of Snyder’s Adult Hope Scale (AHS) in Iranian females with multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on all female patient members of the Iran MS Society of Tehran Province from November 2017 to August 2019. This study was used a convenience sampling method used to select a sample of 321 Iranian females with MS (age: 40.61 years, SD = 9.89). A series of questionnaires was administered to the participants, including sociodemographic data, hope (Snyder's Adult Hope Scale; AHS), anxiety and depression (Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), and self-efficacy (General Self-efficacy Scale (GSE)). Through the analysis of psychometric features of the AHS, construct validity was determined via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), reliability was determined via Cronbach's alpha, divergent validity was determined by examining the relationship between anxiety and depression, and convergent validity was determined using the General Self-efficacy Scale. Results: The confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the data were well fit by a two-factor structure: sbX2 = 66.93 (P < 0.01); SRMR = 0.07; CFI = 0.91; NFI = 0.90; IFI = 0.92; PNFI = 0.61; GFI = 0.93; RMSEA = 0.079. The mean and standard deviation (SD) of the Adult Hope Scale (AHS) was calculated as much as 31.28 (4.58). There was a significant negative correlation between AHS with the Beck’s Depression Inventory (r = -0.51; P < 0.01) and Beck’s Anxiety Inventory (r = -0.42; P < 0.01). Additionally, it was observed that there was a positive correlation between self-efficacy and AHS (r = -0.41; P < 0.01). Conclusions: According to the results, the 12-item AHS indicated good psychometric characteristics in assessing hope among Iranian females with MS. The AHS is one of the primary scales in assessing hope, which can be applied in clinical and research settings.