Life Change Events, Hope, and Self-care Agency in Inner-City Adolescents

PROBLEM: Little is known about the relationships among life change events, hope, and self-care agency in inner-city adolescents METHODS: Adolescents (N = 202) attending two inner-city high schools in Miami (M = 15.9 years; 85% African-Americans; 55% females). Measures used included the Adolescent Life Change Events Questionnaire, Miller Hope Scale, and Denyes Self-Care Agency Instrument. FINDINGS: A significant positive correlation was found between hope and self-care agency. No correlations were found between life change events and hope or life change events and self-care agency. Hope accounted for 20.8% of the variability in self-care agency. CONCLUSIONS: Hope is a significant factor in self-care agency and may be a coping strategy for inner-city adolescents who experience multiple life change events.