Grit and successful aging in older adults

Abstract

Objectives

Grit is a noncognitive trait that has been shown to increase monotonically throughout adulthood and predict late-life cognitive performance. Less is known about the relation between grit and successful aging in older adults.

Method

Participants over 55-years-old (N = 185) completed a series of self-report surveys assessing demographics, grit (Short Grit Scale; Grit-S), physical and emotional functioning (Medical Outcomes Study Short Form Health Survey; SF-36), and changes in cognitive functioning (Everyday Cognition; ECog). Principal component analysis of the Grit-S was conducted, and then Pearson product moment correlations and multiple linear regressions were used to assess the relations between grit, age, and measures of successful aging.

Results

Grit showed no association with age, even after controlling for education. Grit total score was positively associated with a variety of successful aging variables (SF-36; physical, emotional, and social functioning, energy, general health; all p’s <.001). Component analysis of the Grit-S showed a two-component solution representing Consistency and Perseverance. Both components predicted SF-36 measures of energy, general health, and emotional function (SF-36), but only Consistency predicted cognitive decline (ECog) and SF-36 measures of physical health and pain.

Conclusion

Grit is stable throughout older adulthood and may serve as a protective factor that promotes active adaptation to the developmental challenges of aging. Consistency of interests appears to play an adaptive role in all facets of successful aging, including stability of cognitive functioning, while perseverance of effort may have a more circumscribed positive effect on physical and emotional well-being in older adults.

Keywords:

• Grit
• successful aging
• cognitive aging

Disclosure statement

Dr. Rhodes and Dr. Giovannetti have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Center for the Humanities at TempleUniversity. Tania Giovannetti’s time spent working on this project wassupported in part by grants from the National Institute on Aging(R21AG060422, R01AG062503, R21AG066771).