Abstract

Hope was explored as a multidimensional construct. To elucidate the impact of hope on adolescent development, the relationship of specific dimensions of hope and ego identity were considered within the context of 2 mediating variables: temporal perspective and ego strength. The college students, grade point averages were used as a global measure of goal attainment, performance, and adjustment under stressful life experiences. Forty first-year college students , all living on campus, were interviewed and responded to questionnaires. Hope was assessed from 2 perspectives: successful agencies and successful pathways . Agencies refers to the individual's cognitive sense of energy for the goal that she envisions, and pathways refers to the individual's cognitive sense of being able to generate routes to that goal. Conflict resolution skills were examined through a structured interview employing Marcia's Ego Identity Status Interview . moreover, developmental identity crisis, morality, temporal perspective, and autonomy issues were measured through self-report questionnaires. In general, participants' Hope scores and participants' Ego Strength scores were positively related. The findings also suggest a positive relationship between participants' Hope scores and their grade point average. It is interesting to note that, the most powerful predictor of grade point average was the participants' hope scores. The results suggest that a state of high hope is related to ego strength. Also, hope and how the participants viewed themselves across time was positively related