Why hope can reduce negative emotion? Could psychosocial resource be the mediator?

The interrelationship between hope, psychological resources and depression needs clarification. The current study aimed to examine the interrelationship using empirical data. A total of 139 Chinese adults living in the community were invited to fill in questionnaires measuring dispositional hope, psychological resources (i.e. optimism, self-efficacy, social support and positive affect) and negative emotion (i.e. negative affect and depression). Structural equation modelling showed that negative emotion is partially mediated between hope and psychological resources. A bootstrap-estimated analysis corrected for bias showed that negative emotion plays a mediation role between hope and psychological resources. Hope is directly and indirectly related to psychological resources via negative emotion. The potential of hope as an intervention to assist patients with depression to achieve their treatment goals is discussed.