The Association Between Mindfulness and Grit: an East vs. West Cross-cultural Comparison

Abstract

Mindfulness, namely present-oriented attention that is non-judgmental in nature, and grit, namely perseverance and passion for long-term goals, are psychological constructs that have recently received considerable attention within the West. Given the theoretical importance and heretofore lack of research into how these two constructs relate to each other, the present study aimed to examine how mindfulness and grit relate to each other within Western and non-Western cultures. New Zealand (N = 343) and Thai (N = 233) university students completed a battery of questionnaires that assessed the variables of interest. Although both samples showed a positive association between grit and mindfulness at the construct level, results at the facet level showed several notable differences. Specifically, acting with awareness and non-judging were found to predict grit for NZ students more strongly than for Thai students. These findings suggest that mindfulness evidenced more robust relationships with grit in an individualistic culture than in a collectivist society.