Abstract
Statement of Problem
The current study examined the trait Grit and asks what environmental factors contribute to its development. As defined in Duckworth’s (2007) research as the perseverance and passion “perseverance and passion for long term goals, working strenuously towards challenges, maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure, adversity, and plateaus.” The main hypothesis was that individuals who had an authoritative caregiver would have more Grit than those who may have non authoritative caregivers, and also that socio-economic status would interact with caregiver style such that individuals in the lower socio-economic group with authoritative caregivers would have the highest level of Grit.
Sources of Data
Fifty-nine adults with ages ranging from 18 years of age and older from California participated in a Qualtrics survey online. Of the 59 participants, 37 were Black/African American, 10 were White/Caucasian, 5 were Hispanic, 1 was Asian or Pacific Islander. One participant identified as Hispanic/African American. Two participants identified as White-Caucasian/Asian Pacific Islander. One Identified as White-Caucasian/Hispanic. One identified as Hispanic-Latino/Black and African American, and one person reported that they were of an “other” race. Participants were asked for their “age range” (rather than exact age). There were 9 in the 18-24 age range, 18 in the 25-34 age range, 9 in the 35-44 age range, 13 in the age range 45-54, and 10 that were 55 and above. This survey took approximately 10-20 minutes to complete and included measures of SES, Grit, and the Perceived Parenting Survey to assess caregiver style.
Conclusions Reached
Findings suggest that individuals with an Authoritative caregiver are more likely to have a higher score of Grit than those who may have a non-Authoritative caregiver. The data also showed no direct relation between Grit and SES. We can additionally conclude that this failed hypothesis indicates that the combination of both lower SES and authoritative caregiver showed no significance positive and negative in the individual's Grit.