International Journal of Psychology and Educational Studies, 2022, 9(3), 571-588
International Journal of Psychology and Educational
Studies
www.ijpes.com ISSN: 2148-9378
Development and Validation of the Grit Scale: Test of Measurement
Invariance across University and High School Students
Ferhat KARDAŞ1, Mustafa EŞKİSU2, Zekeriya ÇAM3, Metin TAYTAŞ4
1 Faculty of Education, Van Yüzüzncü Yıl University, Van, Turkey 0000-0003-3386-3956
1 Faculty of Education, Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University, Erzincan, Turkey 0000-0002-7992-653X
1 Faculty of Education, Muş Alparslan University, Muş, Turkey 0000-0002-2965-2390
1 Faculty of Education, Van Yüzüzncü Yıl University, Van, Turkey 0000-0003-3585-7357
A R TIC LE I N F O A BS T RA C T
Article History The concept of grit has becomea widely investigated topic in mental health and education in recent
Received 11.06.2021 years. This study aims to develop a tool for measuring grit in high school and university students
Received in revised form and to examine the measurement invariance of the developed scale on two different groups. A total
26.09.2021 of 586 high school students (411 female, 70%; 175 male, 30%) and 639 (437 female, 63%; 202 male,
Accepted 26.03.2022 37%) university students participated in the study. Grit Scale, Short Grit Scale, and Beck
Article Type:Research Hopelessness Scale were used as data collection tools in the study. The exploratory factor analysis
Article results indicated that 14-item Grit Scale with three sub-dimensions explained 61.88% of the variance.
The dimensions in the scale were named Perseverance, Commitment to Goals, and Consistency of
Interest. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the three-dimensional structure of the Grit Scale
fit the data well, with measurement invariance between the high school and university student
groups. Cronbach’s alpha internal consistency coefficients of the total score and sub-dimensions of
the scale were found as .87, .85, .84, and .75, respectively. Convergent validity was evaluated by
calculating the zero-order correlation between the Grit Scale and Short Grit Scale and a significantly
high positive correlation was found (r= .655, p< .001). Divergent validity was evaluated by examining
the relationship between Grit Scale and the Beck Hopelessness Scale and a mild correlation was
found (r= -.484, p< .001). The study revealed that the Grit Scale is a valid and reliable measurement
tool that can be used with adolescents and university students.
© 2022 IJPES. All rights reserved
Keywords:
Grit, perseverance scale development, measurement ınvariance.
1. Introduction
Psychology has always sought answers to the question of what makes people different from one another, what
factors cause one person to be more successful than another who grows up in the same family, whether the
differences between people are caused by genetic factors or by environmental factors in which individuals
grow up.These questions have always had an important place in the field of education as well. When
considering the features that predict success in educational processes, the effectiveness of effort and talent in
these processes has always attracted the attention of researchers. This question has also been related to the
issue of how much individuals can benefit from educational processes. Within this scope, these questions had
an important effect on developing the first intelligence tests. In the history of psychology, many theories and
1Corresponding author’s address: Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, Faculty of Education, Tuşba/Van/Turkey.
e-mail: kardas-90@hotmail.com
Citation: Kardaş, F., Eşkisu, M., Çam, Z. & Taytaş, M. (2022). Development and validation of the grit scale: Test of measurement
ınvariance across university and high school students. International Journal of Psychology and Educational Studies, 9(3), 571-588.
https://dx.doi.org/10.52380/ijpes.2022.9.3.626
,International Journal of Psychology and Educational Studies 2022, 9(3), 571-588
views have been put forward within the nature vs. nurture discussions, longitudinal studies have been
conducted on identical twins, and many studies revealed scientific findings on the issue. However, over time,
it has been observed that the emphasis on the effects of genetic factors has shifted to dimensions such as
environmental factors, the richness of life experiences, and educational opportunities. One of the concepts that
are widely emphasized on this subject is grit. American psychologist Angela Duckworth has sought answers
to questions such as “Is effort or talent the most important determinant of the success of individuals? Why some people
are more resilient in difficult educational processes, while others give up in a short time?” in her studies throughout
the years and she came up with a theory regarding the concept of grit (Duckworth et al., 2007).
Turkish Language Association (TDK, 2021) defines grit (azim) as "the determination to overcome the obstacles”.
However, (Duckworth, 2016) added a new dimension to the concept after investigating the issue throughout
the years by stating that the concept of grit should not be addressed only with the dimension of being
determined and persistent in dealing with obstacles and difficulties. She defined grit as the determination of
the individual in his efforts and the consistency of his interests. Thus, the concept of grit refers to perseverance
and passion for long-term goals (Duckworth et al., 2007). In this context, grit is about being resilient in the face
of adversities and difficulties of life, and at the same time, it is about having objectives and life goals that the
individual will adhere to in the long term (Perkins-Gough, 2013). Hence, grit is the individual's commitment
to long-term goals with persistence and passion. This passion expresses consistency over time rather than
intense emotions (Duckworth et al., 2007). When the individual begins to enjoy his work, passion starts to
emerge. According to this view, grit means pursuing high-level goals consistently for a long time. However,
the individual's lack of well-structured goals may result in a lack of grit. Therefore, the individual needs to
have a well-structured hierarchy of goals, and these goals must be interrelated and integrated (Duckworth,
2016). Analyzing grit within the framework of character strengths, Peterson and Seligman (2004), discussed
the concept of grit as a feature of courage, which is one of the features of character strengths, and defined grit
as the determination to continue one’s efforts voluntarily despite the obstacles, difficulties, and discouraging
situations. Individuals who have grit as a positive personality trait have high expectations and complete hard
work despite the obstacles and the urge to give up (Carr, 2013). The individual's desire to pursue their passions
and dreams, believing in themselves, doing their best, working hard, thinking about the future, and giving up
old habits are also characteristics evaluated within the framework of grit (Wedding, 2014).
Grit means being resilient in the face of failure or negative experiences (Perkins-Gough, 2013). Grit is closely
related to the concept of success, and grit in this process often predicts success more than talent because being
talented in a certain subject causes an individual to make an effort only up to a certain point,. In this process,
grit often predicts success more than talent because being talented in a certain subject causes an individual to
make an effort only up to a certain point and then stop working upon reaching that threshold. On the contrary,
gritty people do not stop working at a certain threshold because they have a permanent habit of working, and
they keep working hard even after they achieve. They keep working hard even after achieving considerable
success. On the other hand, the road to success is often long and every individual faces many obstacles and
difficulties in this process, and from time to time they experiences some failures. Thus, individuals who
achieve success in the long term are, above all, gritty individuals.
For this reason, those who stop trying and working when faced with obstacles or who constantly change their
interests have a lower chance of succeeding (Credé et al., 2017). Similarly, Duckworth (2016) argued that
putting effort is twice as important as talent, and she talked about two significant characteristics of people
who achieve superior success: they have extraordinary endurance and diligence, and they are well aware of
what they want, and they act accordingly. She also defined these characteristics as the basic components of
grit. According to this approach, focusing too much on talent involves some potential harm. In labeling and
categorizing individuals according to their talents, there is a risk of overshadowing and discarding various
traits of individuals, most importantly grit. Studies have shown that grit predicts success beyond and above
talent (Duckworth & Quinn, 2009).
Various views have been put forward on the development of grit, and related questions have been asked about
the concept, just like the discussions on personality. These questions were related to whether grit comes from
birth, whether it is a personality trait, and whether it changes according to environmental conditions. Findings
of studies show that grit is a trait that changes depending on environmental interventions, such as the
individual's efforts and the amount of time spent on the task at hand (Alan et al., 2019; Cross, 2014). Grit, like
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, Ferhat KARDAŞ, Mustafa EŞKİSU, Zekeriya ÇAM & Metin TAYTAŞ
all other personality traits, is affected by genetic factors. The Grit Scale was administered to 2000 twins in a
study conducted in England. According to the results, the genetic transmission rate of the determination
subscale of grit was calculated as 37%, and the genetic transmission rate of the passion scale was calculated as
20%. This situation revealed that the remaining part was explained by experience and showed that grit is a
feature that could be developed (Duckworth, 2016). Peterson and Seligman (2004) dealt with the concept of
grit within the framework of character strengths and indicated that grit is a trait that can be learned.
Techniques such as rewarding individuals' efforts, teaching them to attribute their failures to insufficient
efforts and giving them positive feedback in cases of learned helplessness contribute to the development of
grit. Duckworth (2016) put forward four dimensions of the development of grit. The first is increasing interest
and passion and enjoying what we do. The second one is to practice. Doing something better than the previous
day, making it a part of one's nature by repeating it continuously, and demonstrating a long-term steady effort
and determination for all these. The third is to have goals that mature the passion, make the individual move
forward and sustain. To achieve this, it is significant that the individual sets the goals that serve the well-being
of both himself and others. The fourth one is hope. According to this dimension, hope is a force necessary for
every stage of grit that keeps the individual’s perseverance alive, uplifts them when they falls, and makes
them move forward when they make a false step. Similarly, Tough (2012) stated that grit can be developed by
education. Grit is a trait that can be developed by education by functional reinterpretation of various life
experiences, and it significantly predicts the success levels of individuals. Diener et al. (2009) indicated that
the ability of the individual to adapt to the situation when faced with obstacles and difficulties also plays an
important role in building grit. Re-evaluating negative events with a positive perspective helps the individual
to show grit and become perseverant in achieving their goals.
It has been determined that the concept of grit has important consequences for individuals in various fields
such as mental health and education. With the studies conducted by Duckworth (2016) and Peterson and
Seligman (2004), the concept of grit has started to be considered one of the protective and developing factors
in mental health. Several studies have shown that the concept of grit has a significant positive relationship
with variables such as resilience (Jin & Kim, 2017), academic performance (Pate et al., 2017), life satisfaction,
happiness, well-being, and positive emotions (Jin & Kim, 2017; Peterson et al., 2007; Singh, 2008). Studies also
revealed that grit reduces the risk of suicidal ideation by developing meaning in life (Kleiman et al., 2013). The
concept of grit has been considered as one of the variables closely related to academic success, it has been
examined as one of the strong variables that predict success (Eskreis-Winkler et al., 2014; Tang et al., 2019),
and the concept of academic grit has been introduced in concerning this. The concept of academic grit is related
to setting goals regarding the educational processes of individuals, overcoming the difficulties they encounter
in the process of achieving these goals, and their determination and endurance in this process (Sağkal, 2020).
Since the period during which first intelligence tests were developed in the field of education and psychology,
cognitive variables such as intelligence have been predominantly used in predicting success, and non-
cognitive dimensions such as grit have been addressed in a more limited way. In this context, the relationship
between the concept of grit as a non-cognitive variable success and performance has begun to be investigated
extensively (Kannangara et al., 2018) with the introduction of virtues and character strengths that were
discussed within the positive psychology approach and Duckworth et al.’s (2007) extensive research on the
concept. The US Department of Education published a report in 2013, stating that skills such as grit, tenacity,
and perseverance are important components of learning processes and success in the 21st century. These non-
cognitive skills are critical for individuals to achieve long-term and high-level goals and cope with the
difficulties they face in school life and other areas of life. Within this scope, it has been suggested to all
stakeholders of the educational field to create educational environments that allow the development of these
traits of individuals (Shechtman, 2013). Thus, it can be said that the concept of grit is critically significant for
the field of education. This situation, on the one hand, points out the importance of investigations on the
subject and intervention studies aimed at developing grit, and it reveals that new tools need to be developed
to measure the concept of grit.
When the literature is examined, no other measurement tool for measuring grit has been found other than the
Grit Scale developed by (Duckworth & Quinn, 2009). Within this scope, the Grit Scale was used in most of the
studies on the concept of grit that were conducted in different cultures. Although adaptation studies have
been undertaken for this scale, the scale is a measurement tool developed in the individualist western culture.
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