Pathways to Connection: An Intensive Longitudinal Examination of State and Dispositional Hope, Day Quality, and Everyday Interpersonal Interaction

Asynchronous Event  

Building on hope theory, this study demonstrates that state and trait hope are consequential to daily interpersonal and emotional experiences. Analysis of daily diary data indicated that state hope-within-person pathways thinking, in particular-negatively predicted amount of daily interpersonal conflict, positively predicted constructive conflict management (when conflict occurred), and negatively predicted challenges in maintaining relationships. Further, and consistent with central tenets of hope theory, state pathways and agency thinking became increasingly robust predictors of day quality on days when individuals experienced high-than-usual within-person levels of relational maintenance challenges. Finally, in an extension of hope theory, dispositional pathways and state agency positively predicted momentary feelings of connection, as captured by experience sampling over a seven-day period. Overall, the findings contribute to the continued expansion of hope theory into the study of social and personal relationships.