Understanding The Relationship Between Self-Control and Grit: The Mediating Role of Academic Motivation and Attention Control

Abstract

Over the past several decades, the psychological concepts of self-control and grit have gained prominence in the research literature. While these constructs have been studied extensively in isolation, there has been growing interest in understanding the relationship between the two constructs and the factors that mediate this relationship. The current study sought to examine the relationship between self-control and grit in a sample of 1079 undergraduate students (67.9% female) from twelve different state universities. Specifically, this study aimed to examine the mediating role of academic motivation and attention control in this relationship. Correlational analyses revealed that self-control and grit were positively associated with each other, as well as with academic motivation and attention control. Mediation analyses using bootstrapping procedures revealed that academic motivation and attention control partially mediated the relationship between self-control and grit. In other words, higher levels of self-control were associated with higher levels of academic motivation, which was associated with higher levels of grit. Similarly, higher levels of self-control were associated with better attention control, which was associated with higher levels of grit. These findings have important implications for understanding the components that contribute to the development of grit and suggest that interventions aimed at enhancing academic motivation and attention control may promote the development of greater grit in individuals.