Poster Presentation 6th World Congress on Positive Psychology 2019

The Relationship Of Optimism, Hope And The Future Career Choice In High School Students (#750)

Salma Rocío Quiroga Hernández 1 , Cirilo Humberto García Cadena 1
  1. Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás De Los Garza, NUEVO LEóN, Mexico

Hope and optimism are both part of our cognitive, emotional, and motivational stances toward the future, indicating a belief that future good events will outweigh bad events (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). This research was conducted in order to analyze the possible relationship among optimism, hope and the future career choice in high school students. In this correlational study, the data of 500 students from the last semester of two high schools in northeastern Mexico were analyzed. A correlation analysis of Spearman rank correlation coefficient was performed. Students were asked about their future career choice and if they have investigated the options of their interest. There was a correlation between hope, optimism and the chosen university career (0.177, p 0.00; 0.165; p 0.00) There was also a correlation between hope and the interest in researching the university career to choose (0.141; p 0.002). Meanwhile, there was no relation found between optimism and an interest in researching the university career to choose (0.062; p 0.166). This may be due to the fact that people with hope rely on their own functions and capacities to achieve a successful and satisfactory future, while optimism is more relevant in situations with less personal control.