Personality and Individual Differences 83 (2015) 228233

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Personality and Individual Differences

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/paid

Locus-of-hope and life satisfaction: The mediating roles of personal

self-esteem and relational self-esteem
Hongfei Du a,, Allan B.I. Bernardo a, Susanna S. Yeung b
a
Department of Psychology, University of Macau, Macao
b
Department of Psychological Studies, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Research has demonstrated that hope is linked to better psychological well-being; however, little
Received 16 January 2015 research has been conducted to examine the mechanisms underlying the link between hope and psycho-
Received in revised form 8 April 2015 logical well-being. The current study examined whether two types of self-esteem (personal and rela-
Accepted 12 April 2015
tional) would mediate the relationship between four loci-of-hope (internal, family, peers, and spiritual)
and life satisfaction among Hong Kong and Macau college students (n = 1008). Structural equation mod-
elling was used to test the hypotheses. Consistent with the hypotheses, both personal self-esteem and
Keywords:
relational self-esteem partially mediated the effects of internal hope on life satisfaction. Moreover, rela-
Hope
Locus-of-hope
tional self-esteem mediated the effect of external-family locus-of-hope on life satisfaction. Interestingly,
Personal self-esteem a suppressing effect of personal self-esteem on the relationship between external-peers locus-of-hope
Relational self-esteem and life satisfaction was found. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Life satisfaction 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction locus-of-hope measured using the Dispositional Hope Scale

According to Snyders hope theory (2002), hope is the perceived
capability to produce pathways to desired goals and to motivate
oneself to use those pathways. The cognitive process of hope con-
sists of three core constructs: (a) goals the mental targets that
direct human behavior, (b) pathways the routes to the desired
goals, and (c) agency the perceived ability to achieve goals
through pathways (Rand & Cheavens, 2009). To achieve the goals,
individuals can rely on internal or external agents (e.g., family,
peers, and spirituality) and generate internal or external pathways
(i.e., locus-of-hope) (Bernardo, 2010, 2014). Regarding internal
locus-of-hope, the self is considered as an inner locus to goal
attainment. With external loci-of-hope, one would think family
members, peers, or a spiritual entity/force have the agency and
pathways for goal completion. Because all loci-of-hope share a
common thread of positive goal-directed cognitions, they are cor-
related with each other (Bernardo, 2010, 2014), but relate to other
psychological variables in distinct ways (Bernardo, 2010; Du &
King, 2013).
Psychological well-being is one of those variables that has been
proposed to be an important correlate of hope (Rand & Cheavens,
2009; Snyder, 2002). Numerous studies that investigate internal
Corresponding author. Tel.: +853 8822 4208.
E-mail address: dhfpsy@gmail.com (H. Du).
(Snyder et al., 1991) provide evidence for this assumption by
showing that internal locus-of-hope is a predictor of life satisfac-
tion (Park, Peterson, & Seligman, 2004; Peterson, Ruch,
Beermann, Park, & Seligman, 2007), even when controlling for opti-
mism (Alarcon, Bowling, & Khazon, 2013; Bailey, Eng, Frisch, &
Snyder, 2007). Many of these studies show direct relationships
between internal locus-of-hope (or dispositional hope) and life sat-
isfaction, and other studies show the same direct relationship
when hope mediates the negative relationship between stress
and life satisfaction (OSullivan, 2011) or when hope mediates
the positive relationship between purpose in life and life satisfac-
tion (Cotton Bronk, Hill, Lapsley, Talib, & Finch, 2009). The bene-
cial effect of internal locus-of-hope on life satisfaction can be
experienced among both young (Marques, Lopez, & Mitchell,
2013) and older adults (Cotton Bronk et al., 2009), and also in dif-
ferent cultural/ethnic groups (Wong & Lim, 2009). And the causal
nature of this relationship is supported by research involving hope
training/intervention programs that result in increased life satis-
faction (Proyer, Ruch, & Buschor, 2013).
As it is a relatively new construct, how external locus-of-hope is
associated with life satisfaction are not as clear-cut as with internal
locus-of-hope. Researchers have found that external locus-of-hope
can predict psychological functioning beyond internal locus-of-
hope, but not all the dimensions (i.e., family, peers, spiritual) con-
tribute to life satisfaction equally (Du & King, 2013). In a sample of

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.04.026
0191-8869/ 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 H. Du et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 83 (2015) 228233
Chinese college students, beyond the prediction of internal locus-
of-hope, external-family locus-of-hope emerged as a positive pre-
dictor of life satisfaction and self-esteem, whereas external-spiri-
tual locus-of-hope showed as a negative predictor. External-peers
locus-of-hope was not associated with life satisfaction and self-es-
teem, when controlling other dimensions of locus-of-hope (Du &
King, 2013). But in a sample of Filipino battered women, exter-
nal-peers locus-of-hope was correlated with life satisfaction, par-
ticularly among those who are still in their abusive relationships
(Bernardo & Estrellado, 2015). Thus, the limited empirical litera-
ture shows no clear pattern so far regarding how the external
locus-of-hope dimensions relate to life satisfaction, and this study
aims to address this gap in the literature.
Another gap in the hope literature relates to the mechanism
underlying the relationship between hope and psychological
well-being (Rand & Cheavens, 2009). Some hope theorists have
suggested that hope may exert its inuence on life satisfaction
through coping with goal obstacles and pursuit of meaning in life
(Rand & Cheavens, 2009). For instance, a study showed that the
relationship between hope and life satisfaction varies depending
on the type of coping strategy that individuals adopt (Danoff-
Burg, Prelow, & Swenson, 2004). Studies that explore the variables
that mediate and/or moderate the relationship between hope and
life satisfaction can help clarify the psychological mechanisms that
allow locus-of-hope to increase life satisfaction.
In the present study, we aimed to examine whether self-esteem
serves as a mediator in the association of locus-of-hope with life
satisfaction. Both hope and self-esteem are related to goal-directed
thought, and built on valued activities and accomplishments. More
important, the goal pursuit process directed by hope elicits posi-
tive or negative evaluations of ones self-efcacy related to the goal
(Snyder, 2002), but also more generalized evaluations and emo-
tions about ones self. In line with this argument, we suggest that,
with locus-of-hope, people would evaluate their goal-oriented per-
formance. Depending on the evaluation result, people can maintain
or enhance a sense of self-worth, which will in turn affect the sat-
isfaction with life.
Self-esteem is a strong predictor of life satisfaction across cul-
tures (Diener & Diener, 2009). When people can gain a sense of
self-worth, it indicates that they have good mental adjustment.
For example, empirical studies have demonstrated that life satis-
faction can be affected by self-esteem through the inuence of allo-
centrism (Bettencourt & Dorr, 1997) and strength use (Douglass &
Duffy, 2014).
Furthermore, a sense of self-worth can be maintained and
enhanced through both individual-level characteristics and
group-level roles in relationship with signicant others (Du, King,
& Chi, 2012). Individuals achieve a high level of personal self-es-
teem when they perceive themselves as good people and believe
their own strengths (Tafarodi & Swann, 2001). With a relational
self-identity, people can gain a high level of relational self-esteem
if they are valuable to their signicant others (i.e., family, friends)
or feel proud of them (Du et al., 2012).
The differential inuence of personal self-esteem and relational
self-esteem has been demonstrated in recent research. A study of
vulnerable children has shown that relational self-esteem was
associated with multiple indicators of psychological well-being,
including hopefulness, positive affect, depression, meaning of life,
future expectation, and posttraumatic growth, even when control-
ling for personal self-esteem (Du, Li, Chi, Zhao, & Zhao, 2014).
Another study demonstrated that relational self-esteem was a
stronger buffer against terror of death relative to personal
self-esteem among Chinese college students (Du et al., 2013).
These ndings emphasize the importance of distinguishing the
effects of personal versus relational self-esteem on psychological
well-being.
229
In summary, we propose that as part of the self-evaluation pro-
cesses involved in goal pursuit, hope should be associated with an
enhanced sense of self-worth, and in turn, be associated with life
satisfaction. But the importance of locus-of-hope to personal and
relational self-esteem would vary across the four dimensions of
locus-of-hope. Regarding the direct effects, we predicted that
internal hope and external-family locus of hope would be posi-
tively associated with both kinds of self-esteem and life satisfac-
tion, whereas external-peers locus of hope would not be a
predictor. Both personal and relational self-esteem would be posi-
tively associated with life satisfaction. No specic prediction was
made for external-spiritual locus-of-hope because the current
sample is colleague students in Hong Kong and Macau, where peo-
ple have diverse religious beliefs (e.g., Christianity, Catholicism,
Buddhism, Chinese folk religions, non-religious) (Chan & Goto,
2003), with a majority of the population not being religious (e.g.,
a 2009 Gallup Poll ranked Hong Kong as among the 10 least reli-
gious countries in the world). In terms of indirect effects, we pre-
dicted that both personal self-esteem and relational self-esteem
would mediate the associations of life satisfaction with internal
and external-family locus-of-hope.
2. Methods
2.1. Participants
The participants were 1008 college students (703 women, 297
men, and 8 who did not specify gender; mean age = 19.29 years,
SD = 1.43) from a university in Macau and a university in Hong
Kong. They were recruited from the two universities respective
research participation pool and received course credit for their par-
ticipation. Participants gave their informed consent prior to
answering the research questionnaires. Less than 24% (241) partic-
ipants reported that they were Catholic, Christian, or Buddhists.
2.2. Instruments
Locus-of-hope was assessed with the 40-item Locus-of-Hope
Scale (Bernardo, 2010). This scale consists of 4 dimensions: inter-
nal locus-of-hope (e.g., I meet the goals that I set for myself.),
external-family locus-of-hope (e.g., My parents have lots of ways
of helping me attain my goals.), external-peers locus-of-hope (e.g.,
I have been able to meet my goals because of my friends help.),
and external-spiritual locus-of-hope (e.g., God has many different
ways of letting me attain my goals.). Participants answered the
items on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 4 = strongly
agree). Mean scores were calculated for the four dimensions,
respectively, with higher scores indicating higher levels of hope.
The subscales showed good reliability (internal hope a = .80, exter-
nal-family a = .91, external-peers a = .84, external-spiritual
a = .96).
Personal self-esteem was assessed with the 10-item Rosenberg
Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965). This scale measures a sense
of self-worth through their personal attributes (e.g., I feel that I
have a number of good qualities.). Participants answered the
items on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 4 = strongly
agree). Items were recoded and averaged with higher scores indi-
cating higher personal self-esteem (a = .80).
Relational self-esteem was assessed with the 8-item relational
self-esteem Scale (Du et al., 2012). This scale measures a sense of
self-worth through relationship with signicant others (e.g., I
am proud of my family.). Participants answered the items on a
4-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 4 = strongly agree).
Items were averaged with higher scores indicating higher rela-
tional self-esteem (a = .85).
230 H. Du et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 83 (2015) 228233

Life satisfaction was assessed with the 5-item Life Satisfaction In the measurement model (see Fig. 1), all factor loadings were
Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Grifn, 1985). This scale mea- substantial and signicant (p < .001), indicating that latent factors
sures overall satisfaction with ones own life (e.g., I am satised were adequately operationalized by the indicator variables. The
with my life.). Participants answered the items on a 7-point structural model (see Fig. 2) provided a good t, v2 = 337.14,
Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). Items were df = 56, v2/df = 6.02, p < .001, CFI = 0.96, TLI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.07,
averaged with higher scores indicating higher life satisfaction and SRMR = 0.03. The model explained 42% of the variance in per-
(a = .82). sonal self-esteem, 48% of the variance in relational self-esteem, and
All the scales were administered in Chinese. The Chinese ver- 50% of the variance in life satisfaction. As hypothesized, internal
sions of the scales have shown adequate psychometric properties hope, external-family locus-of-hope, personal self-esteem, and
in the Chinese context (Du & King, 2013; Du et al., 2012, 2014). relational self-esteem showed direct effects on life satisfaction,
whereas external-peers locus-of-hope was not a signicant predic-
tor. Internal hope was also positively associated with both personal
2.3. Statistical analysis and relational self-esteem, whereas external-family locus-of-hope
was only associated with relational self-esteem. In addition, exter-
Descriptive statistics were calculated for all the measures. The nal-peers locus-of-hope was not associated with life satisfaction
bivariate correlations among different variables were examined. and relational self-esteem; however, external-peers locus-of-hope
Conrmatory factor analysis was used to examine the relationships was negatively associated with personal self-esteem. Interestingly,
between the latent constructs and the indicator variables in a mea- external-spiritual locus-of-hope positively predicted life satisfac-
surement model. Two randomly created parcels were computed tion, but negatively predicted relational self-esteem and had no
for each construct and were used as the indicator variables. signicant association with personal self-esteem.
Finally, a structural equation model was developed to investigate With respect to mediation, in line with our hypotheses, both
direct and indirect effects using Mplus 5.1 (Muthn & Muthn, personal self-esteem (b = .18, p < .001, 95% CI = .17.34) and rela-
2008). The model was specied such that personal self-esteem tional self-esteem (b = .08, p < .01, 95% CI = .02.17) partially medi-
and relational self-esteem mediated the effects of all the four ated the effects of internal hope on life satisfaction. Moreover,
dimensions of locus-of-hope on life satisfaction. Five t indices relational self-esteem (b = .06, p < .01, 95% CI = .01.12) partially
were adopted to determine the suitability of the model: chi-square mediated the effect of external-family locus-of-hope on life satis-
goodness of t, the comparative t index (CFI), the TuckerLewis faction. In contrast, personal self-esteem mediated the effect of
index (TLI), the root-mean-square error of approximation external-peers locus-of-hope on life satisfaction (b = .05,
(RMSEA), and the standardized root-mean-square residual p = .001, 95% CI = .12 to .03). Considering the positive bivariate
(SRMR). Direct effects of hope on life satisfaction and indirect correlation between external-peers locus-of-hope and life satisfac-
effects through self-esteem were examined in the model. tion, personal self-esteem acted like a suppressor variable in the
Bootstrapping (5000 resamples) was used to test the signicance relationship between external-peers locus-of-hope and life satis-
of the indirect effects. faction (MacKinnon, Krull, & Lockwood, 2000). Last, personal self-
esteem did not mediate the relationship between external-family
locus-of-hope and life satisfaction (b = .02, p = .14, 95% CI = .01
3. Results to .06) and relational self-esteem did not mediate the relationship
between external-spiritual locus-of-hope and life satisfaction
Table 1 presents the descriptive statistics and bivariate correla- (b = .01, p = .07, 95% CI = .03 to .003).
tions among the different variables. In line with our hypotheses,
life satisfaction was positively associated with personal self-es-
teem, relational self-esteem, internal hope, external-family locus- 4. Discussion
of-hope, and external-peers locus-of-hope. Moreover, both per-
sonal and relational self-esteem showed positive correlations with Snyder (2002) posits that hope, a goal pursuit process, would
internal hope, external-family locus-of-hope, and external-peers produce positive or negative evaluations about the self. We
locus-of-hope. Neither personal self-esteem nor relational self-es- extended this hypothesis to propose that locus-of-hope would
teem showed signicant correlations with external-spiritual inuence personal and relational self-esteem, and in turn lead to
locus-of-hope. Interestingly, external-spiritual locus-of-hope was changes in life satisfaction. Consistent with our hypotheses, per-
correlated with life satisfaction. sonal self-esteem mediated the association of life satisfaction with
internal hope. Relational self-esteem mediated the associations of
life satisfaction with internal hope and external-family locus-of-
Table 1
Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations among constructs.
hope. These ndings provide a more nuanced understanding of
the connection between positive thinking and psychological well-
Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 being.
1. Internal hope 1 The construct hope has been challenged to theoretically overlap
2. External hope- .39*** 1 with other positive psychological constructs, such as optimism and
family
*** self-esteem (Tennen, Afeck, & Tennen, 2002). Our ndings pro-
3. External hope- .41 .53*** 1
peers vide empirical support for the distinction between locus-of-hope
4. External hope- .06 .16 ***
.20*** 1 and self-esteem, in that different loci-of-hope dimensions showed
spiritual varied associations with two types of self-esteem.
5. Personal self- .52*** .24*** .17*** .03 1
In the structural model, the four loci-of-hope dimensions
esteem
6. Relational self- .47*** .43*** .37*** .03 .53*** 1
showed large variations in predicting self-esteem and life satisfac-
esteem tion. In the prediction of personal self-esteem, when the self was
*** *** *** *** ***
7. Life satisfaction .47 .44 .36 .16 .49 .48*** 1 considered as the locus to goal attainment, participants were able
Mean 2.93 2.77 2.74 2.27 2.82 3.06 4.61 to maintain a positive self-worth; however, family and spirit as the
SD 0.36 0.48 0.41 0.65 0.43 0.42 1.01
loci of hope is not associated with personal self-esteem. The medi-
***
p < .001. ation effect of personal self-esteem in the association of internal
 H. Du et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 83 (2015) 228233 231

Parcel 1 Parcel 2

Parcel 1 0.83*** 0.94***

0.73***
Internal Hope
0.84*** Personal Self-
Parcel 2
Esteem

Parcel 1 Parcel 1
0.80*** External Hope-
Family 0.91***
Parcel 2 0.88***
Life Satisfaction
0.81***

Parcel 1 Parcel 2
0.75***
External Hope-
Peers
Parcel 2 0.92***
Relational Self-
Esteem
Parcel 1
0.92*** External Hope-
Spiritual
0.96*** 0.75*** 0.80***
Parcel 2

Parcel 1 Parcel 2

Fig. 1. Measurement model with standardized factor loadings. Note. p < .001.

Personal Self-
Esteem
0.71***
Internal Hope

0.07

0.49*** 0.46*** 0.25***

0.49***
-0.20*** 0.20***
0.53*** External Hope-
Family

0.35*** 0.19***
0.09*
0.62***
Life Satisfaction

0.05
External Hope-
0.19*** Peers
0.11***

0.22*** 0.01

-0.05 0.18**

External Hope-
Spiritual
-0.08* Relational Self-
Esteem

Fig. 2. Structural model with standardized path coefcients. Dashed line indicates path is not signicant. Note. p < .05;
p < .01;
p < .001.

hope with life satisfaction suggests that positive thinking in the
self may lead to a positive self-evaluation, and in turn increase
the satisfaction about ones own life. In contrast, when people con-
sider peers as a locus for goal completion, hope impaired personal
self-esteem. We suspect that reliance on friends in the goal pursuit
process may indirectly harm the evaluation of ones ability and
efcacy. According to the self-evaluation maintenance theory
(Tesser, 1988), people tend to compare ones own capabilities with
close others in the process of self-evaluation. When close others
achieve more success that is relevant to ones own goals, social
comparison decreases ones self-esteem. Hence, although people
may achieve goals through the agency and pathways of friends,
232 H. Du et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 83 (2015) 228233
their self-evaluation maintenance has been hampered. However,
this nding is inconsistent with a study in a Mainland Chinese
sample (Du & King, 2013) showing that external-peers locus-of-
hope was not associated with personal self-esteem. Cultural differ-
ences in dening peers or friends in locus-of-hope may explain the
divergent ndings because college students in Hong Kong and
Macau have been exposed to Western social constructs more
extensively than students in Mainland Chinese (Ralston,
Gustafson, Cheung, & Terpstra, 1993). Future research is needed
to clarify this issue.
The positive associations of relational self-esteem with internal
hope and external-family locus-of-hope are consistent with the
theoretical predictions that relying on both oneself and family
members in the goal pursuit process can boost positive evaluations
of oneself as well as signicant others. The mediation effect of rela-
tional self-esteem further highlights the importance of self-esteem
in linking the connection between hope and life satisfaction. In
contrast, relational self-esteem was not associated with external-
peers locus-of-hope. This result, together with the negative associ-
ation of external-peers locus-of-hope with personal self-esteem,
suggests that peers may have neutral or negative inuence on
self-esteem in the goal attainment process.
The ndings also highlight the importance of distinguishing dif-
ferent loci-of-hope and different types of self-esteem in the predic-
tion of life satisfaction. The distinctions between personal and
relational self-esteem (Du et al., 2012) and between internal and
external locus-of-hope (Bernardo, 2010) are relatively new propos-
als, and it is important to provide support for the conceptual and
empirical distinctiveness of these dimensions. And we see support
for these in how external locus-of-hope was associated with rela-
tional self-esteem. For example, external-family locus-of-hope
was positively associated with relational self-esteem, which was
in contrast to the result with personal self-esteem. Such ndings
suggest that positive thinking may affect psychological well-being
through different channels and produce differential effects.
Besides the indirect effects through self-esteem, internal locus-
of-hope, external-family locus-of-hope, and external-spiritual
locus-of-hope showed direct effects on life satisfaction. These
results underscore the importance of positive thoughts as sources
of general well-being and life satisfaction. As internal locus-of-hope
is equivalent to dispositional hope (Snyder, 2002) that has been
studied rather extensively, the direct relationship between internal
locus-of-hope and life satisfaction replicates earlier studies
showing this relationship. The direct relationship between exter-
nal-family and external-spiritual loci-of-hope and life satisfaction
are new ndings that provide what may be the rst evidence for
how external loci-of-hope dimensions can be important sources
of life-satisfaction. We should underscore the fact that these direct
effects are found with Chinese individuals who live in societies that
emphasize interdependent self-construal and interdependent goal
pursuits (Markus & Kitayama, 2001) and conjoint agency towards
goal attainment (Markus & Kitayama, 2003). The external locus-
of-hope dimensions were proposed to capture goal-related positive
cognitions that relate to these interdependent self-ways (Bernardo,
2010). Oishi and Diener (2001) demonstrated that goal progress in
interdependent goal pursuits had positive effects on the well-being
of Asian American (but not of European American) individuals,
suggesting that being able to achieve goals pursued to make
signicant others happy is an important source of well-being for
individuals with interdependent self-construals. Reciprocally,
thoughts related to how signicant others are co-agents in ones
interdependent goal pursuits (i.e., external-family locus-of-hope)
are also sources of well-being for such individuals.
The direct positive relations between external-spiritual locus-
of-hope and life satisfaction may not be simply accounted for by
the importance of interdependent goal pursuits. First, people in
Hong Kong and Macau have highly diverse religious beliefs (Chan
& Goto, 2003), and thus, it is difcult to characterize how belief
in spiritual or religion agency varies across the participants in
the sample. However, the positive link between spiritual hope
and life satisfaction is in line with the previous literature showing
that religious people are happier (Myers & Diener, 1995).
Presumably, among those who have religious belief, thoughts asso-
ciated with how spiritual forces or beings can support goal pursuit
and attainment are also sources of well-being and life satisfaction.
It is worthwhile to mention that this nding is inconsistent with a
study conducted in Mainland China (Du & King, 2013) showing
that external-spiritual locus-of-hope was negatively associated
with life satisfaction. Mainland China is ofcially atheistic, which
is different from the Hong Kong and Macau contexts where there
is more variation regarding religious beliefs and practices. Hence,
the effect of external-spiritual locus-of-hope on life satisfaction
may depend on the extent to which religious beliefs are stressed
in a specic social context.
Our ndings should be interpreted in light of several limita-
tions. First, given the cross-sectional nature of data, the structural
model does not prove causality. Future research that involves lon-
gitudinal data and/or experimental designs is essentially needed to
conrm causal relationships among locus-of-hope, self-esteem,
and life satisfaction. Nonetheless, the current results have provided
valuable evidence for the conceptual relationships among the con-
structs. Second, the study ndings are based on self-reported data.
Future studies should consider additional measures, such as
behavioral observations or others ratings. Third, the lack of sample
generalizability is yet another limitation, because the sample con-
sisted of Hong Kong and Macau college students. We suggested
that the type of religious experiences in society may have inu-
enced the results related to external-spiritual locus-of-hope.
Although a majority of Hong Kong and Macau people are not reli-
gious, diverse religious beliefs exist in both societies where people
are often exposed to religious values and practices. Hence, the nd-
ings on external-spiritual locus-of-hope may not be generalized to
populations in atheistic cultures. Fourth, the very construct of
external locus-of-hope was conceptualized to capture hopeful
thoughts that related to conjoint agency and interdependent goal
pursuit in collectivistic cultures (Bernardo, 2010; Du & King,
2013), and so far, there is no data regarding external locus-of-hope
in more individualistic cultures. Last, age may inuence the extent
to which individuals rely on the self, family, and friends as the loci
of hope (Bailey & Snyder, 2010). Older adults may have different
expectations for the help of friends compared to colleague stu-
dents. It would be interesting to explore how age and other cul-
tural variables affect the links between hope, self-esteem, and
life satisfaction in future research.
In sum, our research contributes to the literature by demon-
strating the mediating role of self-esteem in the relationship
between hope and life satisfaction. Based on the locus-of-hope the-
ory (Bernardo, 2010) and the distinction between personal and
relational self-esteem (Du et al., 2012), this study revealed differ-
ential impacts of the loci-of-hope on life satisfaction through two
types of self-esteem. These different pathways linking distinct
locus-of-hope dimensions and aspects of self-esteem to life satis-
faction are not only of theoretical interest, but are also practically
signicant as they indicate further opportunities for improving the
general well-being of individuals. There are already hope interven-
tion programs that help individuals strengthen their hope-related
cognitions (Marques, Lopez & Pais-Ribeiro, 2011; Proyer et al.,
2013), but these have focused on disposition hope or internal
locus-of-hope. Our ndings suggest that hope interventions could
also target cognitions related to hope signicant others, like family
members, as co-agents in goal pursuit, as these may also serve as
sources of personal and relational self-esteem.
 H. Du et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 83 (2015) 228233
Acknowledgement
This research was supported by a Grant to the second author
from the Research Development and Administration Ofce of the
University of Macau (Project Reference No.: SRG014-FSH13-ABIB).
References
Alarcon, G. M., Bowling, N. A., & Khazon, S. (2013). Great expectations: A meta-
analytic examination of optimism and hope. Personality and Individual
Differences, 54(7), 821827.
Bailey, T. C., Eng, W., Frisch, M. B., & Snyder, C. (2007). Hope and optimism as related
to life satisfaction. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2(3), 168175.
Bailey, T. C., & Snyder, C. (2010). Satisfaction with life and hope: A look at age and
marital status. The Psychological Record, 57(2), 5.
Bernardo, A. B. (2010). Extending hope theory: Internal and external locus of trait
hope. Personality and Individual Differences, 49(8), 944949.
Bernardo, A. B. (2014). Hope in early adolescence: Measuring internal and external
locus-of-hope. Child Indicators Research. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12187-014-
9254-6.
Bernardo, A. B., & Estrellado, A. F. (2015). Well-being of Filipino women victims of
intimate partner violence: Interacting effects of control, hope, and relationship
status. Submitted for publication.
Bettencourt, B. A., & Dorr, N. (1997). Collective self-esteem as a mediator of the
relationship between allocentrism and subjective well-being. Personality and
Social Psychology Bulletin, 23(9), 955964.
Chan, D. K. S., & Goto, S. G. (2003). Conict resolution in the culturally diverse
workplace: Some data from Hong Kong employees. Applied Psychology, 52(3),
441460.
Cotton Bronk, K., Hill, P. L., Lapsley, D. K., Talib, T. L., & Finch, H. (2009). Purpose,
hope, and life satisfaction in three age groups. The Journal of Positive Psychology,
4(6), 500510.
Danoff-Burg, S., Prelow, H. M., & Swenson, R. R. (2004). Hope and life satisfaction in
Black college students coping with race-related stress. Journal of Black
Psychology, 30(2), 208228.
Diener, E., & Diener, M. (2009). Cross-cultural correlates of life satisfaction and self-
esteem. In E. Diener (Ed.), Culture and well-being (pp. 7191). Dordrecht,
Netherlands: Springer.
Diener, E. D., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Grifn, S. (1985). The satisfaction with
life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 7175.
Douglass, R. P., & Duffy, R. D. (2014). Strengths use and life satisfaction: A
moderated mediation approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 114.
Du, H., Jonas, E., Klackl, J., Agroskin, D., Hui, E. K. P., & Ma, L. (2013). Cultural
inuences on terror management: Independent and interdependent self-
esteem as anxiety buffers. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 49,
10021011.
Du, H., & King, R. B. (2013). Placing hope in self and others: Exploring the
relationships among self-construals, locus of hope, and adjustment. Personality
and Individual Differences, 54, 332337.
Du, H., King, R. B., & Chi, P. (2012). The development and validation of the Relational
Self-esteem Scale. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 53, 258264.
Du, H., Li, X., Chi, P., Zhao, J., & Zhao, G. (2014). Relational self-esteem, psychological
well-being, and social support in children affected by HIV. Journal of Health
Psychology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1359105313517276.
233
MacKinnon, D. P., Krull, J. L., & Lockwood, C. M. (2000). Equivalence of the
mediation, confounding and suppression effect. Prevention Science, 1(4),
173181.
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (2003). Models of agency: Sociocultural diversity in
the construction of action. In V. Murphy-Berman & J. J. Berman (Eds.). Cross-
cultural differences in perspectives on the self: Nebraska symposium on motivation
(Vol. 49, pp. 157). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (2001). The cultural construction of self and emotion:
Implications for social behavior. In W. G. Perrod (Ed.), Emotions in social
psychology: Essential reading (pp. 119137). Philadelphia: Brunner-Routledge.
Marques, S. C., Lopez, S. J., & Mitchell, J. (2013). The role of hope, spirituality and
religious practice in adolescents life satisfaction: Longitudinal ndings. Journal
of Happiness Studies, 14(1), 251261.
Marques, S. C., Lopez, S. J., & Pais-Ribeiro, J. (2011). Building hope for the future: A
program to foster strengths in middle-school students. Journal of Happiness
Studies, 12(1), 139152.
Muthn, L. K., & Muthn, B. O. (2008). Mplus (Version 5.1). Los Angles: Springer.
Myers, D. G., & Diener, E. (1995). Who is happy? Psychological Science, 6(1), 1019.
Oishi, S., & Diener, E. (2001). Goals, culture, and subjective well-being. Personality
and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27(12), 16741682.
OSullivan, G. (2011). The relationship between hope, eustress, self-efcacy, and life
satisfaction among undergraduates. Social Indicators Research, 101(1), 155172.
Park, N., Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Strengths of character and well-
being. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23(5), 603619.
Peterson, C., Ruch, W., Beermann, U., Park, N., & Seligman, M. E. (2007). Strengths of
character, orientations to happiness, and life satisfaction. The Journal of Positive
Psychology, 2(3), 149156.
Proyer, R. T., Ruch, W., & Buschor, C. (2013). Testing strengths-based interventions:
A preliminary study on the effectiveness of a program targeting curiosity,
gratitude, hope, humor, and zest for enhancing life satisfaction. Journal of
Happiness Studies, 14(1), 275292.
Ralston, D. A., Gustafson, D. J., Cheung, F. M., & Terpstra, R. H. (1993). Differences in
managerial values: A study of US, Hong Kong and PRC managers. Journal of
International Business Studies, 249275.
Rand, K. L., & Cheavens, S. (2009). Hope theory. In S. J. Lopez & C. R. Snyder (Eds.),
Oxford handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed., pp. 323333). New York: Oxford
University Press.
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press.
Snyder, C. R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13,
249275.
Snyder, C. R., Harris, C., Anderson, J. R., Holleran, S. A., Irving, L. M., Sigmon, S. T.,
et al. (1991). The will and the ways: Development and validation of an
individual-differences measure of hope. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 60, 570585.
Tafarodi, R. W., & Swann, W. B. Jr., (2001). Two-dimensional self-esteem: Theory
and measurement. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 653673.
Tennen, H., Afeck, G., & Tennen, R. (2002). Clipped feathers: The theory and
measurement of hope. Psychological Inquiry, 311317.
Tesser, A. (1988). Toward a self-evaluation maintenance model of social behavior. In
L. Berkowitz (Ed.). Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 21,
pp. 181227). New York: Academic Press.
Wong, S. S., & Lim, T. (2009). Hope versus optimism in Singaporean adolescents:
Contributions to depression and life satisfaction. Personality and Individual
Differences, 46(5), 648652.