Document Type

Honors Paper

Advisor

Jefferson Singer

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

Large-scale threats (e.g., climate change, political unrest, economic uncertainty) have many negative effects on young adults’ well-being. Given the widespread and existential nature of these threats, it can be difficult for individuals to maintain hope in the face of them. The present study examines the relationships among hope, locus of control, psychological well-being, concern over large-scale threats, and news use in a sample of 213 young adults from the United States aged 19-27 years. Participants completed several self-report scales and provided a hope narrative. The data show strong positive relationships between greater hope and internal locus of control and more frequent conventional news use. Within measures of hope, agentic hope was the strongest predictor of individuals’ internal locus of control. Hope was also positively related to psychological well-being. Qualitative analysis of the narratives revealed that those with high levels of conventional news use and concern regarding more global large-scale threats were more likely to have action-oriented narratives. Taken together, the quantitative and qualitative results suggest that individuals who feel greater internal locus control, are more tuned into conventional sources of news, and that have a greater sense of agentic hope are more likely to be action-oriented in the face of global threats and to feel greater environmental mastery, resulting in stronger psychological well-being.

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The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author.