An empirical evaluation of two theoretically-based hypotheses on the directional association between self-worth and hope Lindley McDavid a , Meghan H. McDonough a, * , Alan L. Smith b a Purdue University, 800 West Stadium Avenue, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA b Michigan State University, 308 West Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA article info Article history: Available online Keywords: Self theory Hope theory Positive youth development abstract Fostering self-worth and hope are important goals of positive youth development (PYD) efforts, yet intervention design is complicated by contrasting theoretical hypotheses regarding the directional association between these constructs. Therefore, within a lon- gitudinal design we tested: (1) that self-worth predicts changes in hope (self theory; Harter, 1999), and (2) that hope predicts changes in self-worth (hope theory; Snyder, 2002) over time. Youth (N ¼ 321; M age ¼ 10.33 years) in a physical activity-based PYD program completed surveys 37e45 days prior to and on the second day and third-to-last day of the program. A latent variable panel model that included autoregressive and cross-lagged paths indicated that self-worth was a significant predictor of change in hope, but hope did not predict change in self-worth. Therefore, the directional association between self- worth and hope is better explained by self-theory and PYD programs should aim to enhance perceptions of self-worth to build perceptions of hope. © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. As adolescents mature, newly developed cognitive abilities enable them to formulate more complex perceptions about who they are, and ideas about their future goals (C^ ot e, 2009; Harter, 1999; Snyder, 2002). During this time, participation in programs that foster positive self-identities and adaptive goals provide youth with opportunities to build psychological, emotional, and behavioral resources. In turn, youth can utilize these resources to pursue healthy and promising paths toward successful adulthood. Positive youth development (PYD) programs strive to build such developmental resources, often called assets, in youth (Damon, 2004; Lerner, von Eye, Lerner, & Lewin-Bizan, 2009). Coupled with the need to facilitate healthy physical growth and development, well-designed physical activity based PYD programs take advantage of the social in- teractions inherent in sports and active games to design activities that foster social, emotional, and intellectual development as well (Fraser-Thomas, C^ ot e, & Deakin, 2005; Hellison, Martinek, Walsh, & Holt, 2008). Due to the salience of developing positive self-identities and goals during adolescence, two relevant aims of PYD programs are to foster young people's perceptions of self-worth and hope. Self-worth is a global perception of an individual's evaluation of themselves as a person (Harter, 1999). Hope is an individual's future related thinking, which includes perceptions of their capacity to set clear goals and plan routes to achieve goals, and their motivation to use those routes to achieve goals (Snyder, * Corresponding author. Department of Health and Kinesiology, Purdue University, 800 West Stadium Avenue, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. E-mail address: mcdonough@purdue.edu (M.H. McDonough). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Adolescence journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jado http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2015.02.007 0140-1971/© 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Journal of Adolescence 41 (2015) 25e30