Development and Validation of Grit Scale for Young Adults

Grit is a non-cognitive trait that has received a lot of attention since researches highlights its significant importance in the field of education and wellbeing. Despite the advantages of grit in accomplishing goals, it can be dangerous. This research was carried out to shed light on the importance of non-monotonic impact of grit and aimed at developing and validating the grit scale for young adults of age between 16 and 24 years. Study comprised three phases. In Phase-1, set of items were generated using inductive and deductive approach. In Phase-II, exploratory factor analysis was carried out to examine the dimensionality and internal consistency of grit scale in a sample of 218 young adults using varimax rotation. The resulting eigen values and scree plot provided evidence for the five factor solution with 22 items labelled as under use of perseverance, optimal use of perseverance, over use of perseverance, harmonious passion and obsessive passion. Findings revealed satisfactory alpha coefficients for the measure of grit. In Phase-III, the convergent and divergent validity of the scale was evaluated by correlating scores on the newly developed measure of grit and the measure of positive and negative affect schedule with a sample of 148 young adults that established the construct validity of the scale. The findings of the study could be helpful for the counsellors to employ more effective youth development programs for young adults on the basis of optimal level of perseverance and harmonious passion.