The Role of Hope for Adolescents with a Chronic Illness: An Integrative Review

Hope is a human strength essential for adolescents' enduring and coping with chronic illness however, the role of hope is not well understood in this population.

Objectives: This integrative review describes what is currently known about the role of hope in adolescents with a chronic illness.

Method: A methodological review using an integrative approach by R. Whittemore and K. Knafl (2005) was performed.

Databases: MEDLINE via Pubmed; CINAHL; PyscINFO and Google scholar were searched for articles published in peer-reviewed journals from 1995 to 2015, using search terms 'hope and chronic illness' with age limiters for all except Google scholar (title search of "hope and adolescents").

Results: Of the 197 studies initially retrieved: a total of 27 quantitative studies, 8 qualitative studies and 19 theoretical works were selected for review. Seven themes emerged including that hope: (i) promotes health (ii) facilitates coping and adjustment, (iii) enhances quality of life, (iv) is essential in purpose in life and illness (v) improves self-esteem, (vi) is an important factor in resilience and (vii) affects maturation. Persons reporting higher levels of hope find multiple routes to goals, view setbacks as challenges, and better manage psychological symptoms.

Discussion: Although theory and a limited body of empirical research to date suggest a link between hopeful thinking and physical health, the specific mechanisms remain unclear. As hope is linked to resilience, further research should explore whether adolescents with higher hope return to baseline faster than their lower hope counterparts.