The Role of Hope in the Academic and Sport Achievements of

Abstract

Previous investigations have observed that elevated hope is a significant predictor of both academic and athletic achievement among male and female track and field student athletes, even when controlling statistically for natural athletic ability. Little is known, however, about the influence of hope in other athletic domains. Accordingly, the purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between hope and academic and athletic performance - operationalized as GPA and playing time, respectively - among 100 Division I football players at a large mid-western university followed over the span of three seasons. Based on past research it was predicted that higher hope would be associated with increased academic and football-related performance. Likewise, it was predicted that domain-specific hope (i.e., hope regarding academic and athletic domains of achievement, respectively) would yield more robust prediction than would a general, nonspecific measure of trait hope. As expected, hope was positively associated with academic achievement, both concurrently and prospectively. However, it was inversely correlated with athletic achievement (playing time) in a subset of relevant analyses even when controlling statistically for natural physical ability. Domain-specific measures of academic and athletic hope proved to be largely unrelated to performance indices in their respective domains.