A Psychometric Analysis of Hope, Persistence, and Engagement Among Reengaged Youth

Abstract

Youth who have disengaged from and subsequently returned to school are qualitatively different from students with continual educational enrollment. In this study, we examined the validity for two measures: the Adult Hope Scale (AHS) and Persistence in Goal Striving (PGS) Scale, among two samples of reengaged students (i.e., students who have dropped out of high school and returned to finish their degrees). Results from the AHS indicated that among reengaged students, a new factor structure may fit better than what has been used previously. Results from the PGS replicated a factor structure from previous research. Finally, we examined whether we could find support for criterion validity by assessing associations with measures of engagement, and found a positive relation between the AHS, PGS, and measures of cognitive and emotional engagement. Implications and future directions are discussed.