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Is Grittiness Next to Happiness? Examining the Association of Triarchic Model of Grit Dimensions with Well-Being Outcomes

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Abstract

The present research explored the link of triarchic model of grit underpinned by three dimensions – perseverance of effort, consistency of interest, and adaptability to situations with well-being outcomes using a cross-cultural design among Filipino, Japanese, and Polish undergraduate students (Study 1), a cross-sectional design including Filipino employees (Study 2), and a longitudinal design involving Filipino high school students (Study 3). Study 1 demonstrated that perseverance was positively correlated with flourishing in Japanese undergraduate students. Adaptability was related to increased flourishing among Filipino, Japanese, and Polish students. Study 2 showed that both adaptability and perseverance positively predicted psychological flourishing in selected Filipino employees. Study 3 demonstrated that T1perseverance and T1adaptability positively predicted T2life satisfaction even after controlling for age, gender, previous GPA, and auto-regressor effects. However, all dimensions of grit did not predict T2flourishing. Implications of the results to advancing the extant grit theory are discussed.

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Fig. 1

Note *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001. Unsignificant standardized regression weights are underlined. Regression coefficients are presented in the following order: Japan, Phillipinnes, Poland. Only latent factors are presented in this figure, without observed variables

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Notes

  1. We examined full measurement model for flourishing scale, based on single items. However, in Poland we were forced to allow for three correlations between errors to achieve good model fit. Therefore, as we were interested in examining interrelations in structural model and comparisons the results across three countries, we decided to use parcels to minimize measurement error and stabilize models fit.

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Funding

This research was partly funded by Start-Up Research Grant for Newly-Recruited Assistant Professors (RG 74/2017-2018R) from The Education University of Hong Kong awarded to the first author, National Science Centre, Poland grant [grant number 2017/26/E/HS6/00282] awarded to the third author, and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science grant (18K03027) awarded to the fourth author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Special Education and Counselling, Integrated Centre for Well-Being (I-WELL), The Education University of Hong Kong, Rm. D2-2F-28, 10 Lo Ping Rd., Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Jesus Alfonso D. Datu

  2. Department of Special Education and Counselling, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong

    Dennis M. McInerney

  3. Institute of Psychology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University, Warsaw, Poland

    Magdalena Żemojtel-Piotrowska

  4. Department of Psychological Sciences, Kwansei Gakuin University, Nishinomiya, Japan

    Hidefumi Hitokoto

  5. Department of Financial Management, Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines

    Nino D. Datu

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  1. Jesus Alfonso D. Datu
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  2. Dennis M. McInerney
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  5. Nino D. Datu
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Correspondence to Jesus Alfonso D. Datu.

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Datu, J.A.D., McInerney, D.M., Żemojtel-Piotrowska, M. et al. Is Grittiness Next to Happiness? Examining the Association of Triarchic Model of Grit Dimensions with Well-Being Outcomes. J Happiness Stud 22, 981–1009 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-020-00260-6

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