The Dispositional Hope Scale in Spanish-speaking users of mental health services: validation and normative data

BACKGROUND: Hope is currently considered one of the key components of personal recovery in mental health (along with connection, identity, meaning, and empowerment). The Dispositional Hope Scale (DHS) is the most widely used instrument for assessing hope, although it has yet to be validated with users of mental health services. This study aimed to validate the Spanish version of the DHS in a sample of Spanish-speaking mental health service users. METHOD: Participants were 465 users of mental health services aged 18–79. The dimensional structure of the DHS was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency was assessed by calculating Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega coefficients for ordinal items. Configural, metric, and scalar invariance across gender was evaluated using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. Gender differences in total DHS score were examined with the Mann–Whitney U test. Relationships with other variables (i.e., recovery, empowerment, and perceived social support) were analyzed by calculating Spearman correlation coefficients. Additionally, percentile ranks corresponding to each raw score were calculated. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis supported the unidimensionality of the Spanish DHS, with factor loadings ranging from .68 to .85. Internal consistency for scale scores was high (α = .93; ω = .90). Scores on the Spanish DHS showed gender invariance and were strongly and positively correlated with measures of personal recovery (rs = .80), empowerment (rs = .80), and perceived social support (rs = .51). No significant differences were found between men and women in the total score (U = 28.150, p = .142). CONCLUSION: The Spanish version of the DHS yields reliable and valid scores for assessing hope among Spanish-speaking users of mental health services. The gender invariance of DHS scores supports comparisons between men and women, while the percentile scores we provide contribute to the effective assessment of hope in this population. This is especially relevant in the context of a paradigm shift towards recovery-oriented care in mental health public policies, insofar as the promotion and assessment of hope is now recognized as being of central importance.