Preliminary Validation of a Spanish Language Translation of the Children's Hope Scale

As society becomes increasingly diverse, the issue about language used for assessments becomes critical. Research suggests that completing measures in a language other than one's native language may result in inaccurate scores. The Children's Hope Scale (Snyder et al., 1997), a scale assessing dispositional hope in children ages 8 to 16, was translated into Spanish for this present study. A sample of bilingual children (N=36) completed both the English and Spanish versions of the scale at 1-month intervals. A significant correlation between these two versions suggests that the Spanish version may be a useful and appropriate tool for measuring hope in Spanish-speaking children. Findings such as these can help expand the understanding of positive psychological constructs as they relate to diverse populations and can improve assessment of multicultural populations. (Contains 11 references.) (JDM)