HAPPINESS AND HOPE AMONG A SAMPLE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS: A STUDY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Abstract

Happiness and hope are important topics in positive psychology because of their many positive outcomes for adolescents’ mental health. Therefore, the present study aimed to reveal the levels of happiness and hope among a sample of secondary school students, as well as to identify the nature of the relationship between happiness and hope and to examine differences in the two variables according to gender and age. The study sample consisted of (357) male and female students, selected by a simple random method from some secondary schools in El Oued Province, Algeria, during the academic year 2025-2026. Their ages ranged between 14 and 22 years, with a mean age of 16.85 and a standard deviation of 1.5. The two researchers used the Oxford Happiness Inventory, Arabized by Abdel-Khalek (2003), and Snyder’s Hope Scale, Arabized by Abdel-Khalek (2004). The study found an average level of happiness and a near-average level of hope. The results also revealed a statistically significant correlation at the significance level of 0.01 between happiness and hope, while no statistically significant differences appeared in these two variables according to gender. However, statistically significant differences were found in happiness and hope according to the age variable.