The relationship of hope to self-compassion, relational social skill, communication apprehension, and life satisfaction

Hope is a habitual way of thinking about goals, the potential pathways of achieving them and the motivated agency for their accomplishment. Past research shows the beneficial behavioral outcomes of having hope, but little research investigates the relationship of hope to indicators of psychological, relational, communicative, or subjective wellbeing. The present study takes an interdisciplinary approach to test a model of the relationship between hope and wellbeing, as expressed through self-compassion, relational social skill, communication apprehension, and life satisfaction. Results show a pattern of relationships that suggest intervention programs designed to change thinking habits can encourage not only more hopeful thought but also enhanced self-compassion, greater skill in personal relationships, less communication apprehension, and heightened life satisfaction.