The measurement structure of dispositional hope: Hierarchical and bifactor models

Hope is a higher-order cognitive construct relating to expectations of or beliefs in wish fulfillment, which has been conceptualized as consisting of 2 components: pathways thinking (the perceived means available to individuals that allow them to achieve their goals) and agency thinking (belief in one’s ability to succeed in using the identified pathways). We aimed to clarify the measurement structure of the Chinese version of the Adult Dispositional Hope Scale, using a sample of 751 university student participants. We employed confirmatory factor analysis to compare 1-factor, 2-factor, second-order, and bifactor models. The results showed that all models fit the measured data well. However, the bifactor model had the best fit indices, whereas the second-order model was the most consistent with the theoretical measurement model. To verify that hope theory and the corresponding instruments can be confidently applied to cross-cultural samples, it is necessary to further assess their reliability and validity in a Chinese cultural context through a measurement structure analysis.