The emotional pay-off of staying gritty: linking grit with social-emotional learning and emotional well-being

ABSTRACT

There is a dearth of research on how alternative models of grit predict well-being outcomes. In this research, we examine associations among the Triarchic Model of Grit dimensions (i.e. perseverance of effort, consistency of interests, and adaptability to situations) and positive and negative emotions. We also explore the mediating role of social-emotional learning in these relationships. Data collected from 1351 high school students from the Philippines showed that perseverance and adaptability were positively related to social-emotional learning, while consistency was negatively associated with social-emotional learning. Further analysis showed that perseverance and adaptability were indirectly related to positive emotions via social-emotional learning. Overall, these findings demonstrate the need to adopt culturally-sensitive models of grit for student populations in Asian cultural contexts.

KEYWORDS:

• Grit
• negative emotions
• positive emotions
• social-emotional learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Dr. Jesus Alfonso D. Datu (Jess) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education and Counselling at the Education University of Hong Kong. He is a well-being scientist. His primary scientific research programmes focus on how and why wellbeing factors and interventions optimise well-being and educational outcomes.

Prof. Simon Lloyd D. Restubog is Professor in the School of Labor and Employment Relations and Department of Psychology (courtesy appointment) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, and Professor of Management in the UQ Business School at The University of Queensland, Australia. His primary research interests include the dark side of human behaviour in organisations, employment relationships, and career development.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by The Education University of Hong Kong – Internal Research Grant (Project # RG90/2017-2018R) successfully awarded to the first author.