Gallery Presentation International Positive Psychology Association 7th IPPA World Congress 2021

Predicting Academic Success from Grit, Resilience, Conscientiousness and Self-Regulation in Traditional and Non-Traditional Students (#142)

Keith Burton 1
  1. Saint Leo University, Saint Leo, FL, USA

 

Background

Muenks et al. (2017) found that grit was less effective at predicting end-of-term grades than other related constructs in traditional college students. They examined the contributions of conscientiousness, self-regulation, behavioral engagement, self-control, and effort regulation, and found that self-regulation and engagement were better predictors of student final grades than grit. 

Hypotheses/Research Questions

We replicate and extend Muenks et al.'s (2017) work by adding another construct, resilience, and examining these predictors of academic success in traditional and non-traditional-aged students. We anticipated replicating their results in our traditional campus students, and that grit and resilience will serve as more effective predictors of academic success in our non-traditional students. In addition, we hypothesize that self-regulation will be of greater predictive value among our online students.

Sample Characteristics and Sample Size

Data collection is ongoing, and presently we have 118 participants. They are representative of our institution's student body, with 36 being traditional-aged students attending college on a physical campus, while 82 are non-traditional-aged students taking courses online or at an education center. Approximately 75% are female.

Design

All variables are being measured via online adaptations of questionnaires used in the Muenks et al. study along with the additional measure of resilience (Connor & Davidson, 2003). Participants self-report overall GPA, institutional GPA, and their grade in an ongoing course.

Results

Preliminary analyses revealed that the prediction of academic success in traditional students differs from non-traditional students. The pattern of results from Muenks et al. was largely replicated in traditional-aged students, but those predictors were weaker overall in non-traditional students. Grit, effort regulation, and resilience were significant predictors in this group, but conscientiousness and engagement were not.

Scientific Contribution

This is a replication and extension of prior work on predicting academic success.


 

  1. Connor K.M. & Davidson J.R.T. (2003). Development of a new resilience scale: the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Depression and Anxiety, 18, 71-82.
  2. Muenks, K., Wigfield, A., Yang, J. S., & O'Neal, C. R. (2017). How true is grit? Assessing its relations to high school and college students’ personality characteristics, self-regulation, engagement, and achievement. Journal Of Educational Psychology, 109 (5), 599-620.
  • Keywords: Coping and Emotion Regulation, Education