Trust, Social Support and Hope Resources
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| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
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| Description | The chapter is dedicated to the exploration of different sources and activities of hope across countries. In particular, we explore how these serve as expressions of trust and confidence in the availability of resources, nourishing the belief in the feasibility and supporting the realization of wished-for goods considered to be possible, although not necessarily probable. Following an interdisciplinary approach, we integrated perspectives from the disciplines of Positive Psychology, Risk Management, and the Philosophy of Hope to elucidate the difference between trust and confidence. We further differentiate between perceived hope, on the one hand, and dispositional hope and optimism, on the other, backed in this interdisciplinary approach. Using data from the Hope Barometer in 2018 and 2019 we investigated the role of internal and external sources and activities of hope in two studies. Study 1 comprised 12 countries (N = 10,193) and aimed to analyze several personal and external hope sources with a specific focus on social support, religiosity and the feeling of luck in relation to hope. Study 2 was performed with 8 samples from 7 countries (N = 6245), centering on the assessment of several hope activities and their effects on perceived hope. Our findings highlight the importance of social, religious and other external factors of hope, demonstrate the differential nature of perceived and dispositional hope, and show significant differences between countries regarding the role of trust in individual capabilities, in emotional and instrumental support as well as in religious/spiritual experiences and practices. |