Psychometric Assessment and Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Grit-S Scale among Omani and American Universities’ Students

Abstract

The current study aimed to adopt and assess the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of Grit-S among Omani and American students (N = 487) using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Multi-Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The scale's construct validity was estimated by investigating its associations with achievement goal orientations (AGOs). EFA results suggested that a two-factor solution (i.e., perseverance of effort [G_PE] and consistency of interest [G_CI]) was the best factorial structure, explaining 47.74% and 51.02% of the variance in the Omani and American samples, respectively. The factors had good reliability coefficients in the two samples. Related to the intercultural differences, G_PE explained more variance among Omanis (31.02%) relative to American sample, whereas G_CI explained a larger proportion of variance among Americans (36.86%) compared with Omani sample. The first level of measurement invariance, configural invariance, was not supported, necessitating the investigation of the other levels of measurement invariance using a new sample. Grit correlated positively with mastery and performance-approach goals (r = .29 and .12, respectively) and negatively with avoidance goals (r = -.25), supporting the scale's construct validity. These findings showed that Grit-S scale can be used as valid and reliable assessment tool to assess student interest and perseverance in the academic context in Arabic/Omani and American cultures.

Want-to, have-to, amotivation, grit, self-control, and tolerance ambiguity among university students: latent profile analysis

“…Meaning, gritty students show more diligence in surmounting barriers and lasting interest to fulfill their goals despite setbacks and lack of assistance. More recent empirical research has highlighted that grit is positively associated with numerous academic outcomes, including academic performance through numerous mediators (e.g., self-efficacy and achievement orientation goals; 3; 18), Mastery and performance-approach goals [ 2 ], intellectual engagement [ 31 ], metacognition [ 32 ], life satisfaction [ 33 ], and graduation rate [ 34 ]. A recent meta-analysis study revealed that grit correlated with undergraduate GPA, retention, intent to persist in college, college satisfaction, and self-efficacy [ 35 ].…”

“…In detail, Hong et al [ 6 ] showed four profiles of undergraduates based on four outcomes of academic motivation (i.e., self-efficacy, achievement goals, value, and cost). These profiles were [ 1 ] High cost (i.e., was characterized by high cost and low self-efficacy, goals, and values; 9.1%), [ 2 ] Moderately motivated (i.e., had students with an average level of all motivation; 37.7%), [ 3 ] High goals (i.e., contained students with higher achievement goals compared to other profiles; 41.9%), and [ 8 ] Mastery-driven (i.e., had students with low-performance achievement goals and avoidance goals; 11.3%).…”

“…Among Canadian undergraduates, Litalien et al [ 11 ] identified five latent profiles, which are [ 1 ] Knowledge-oriented (i.e., learners reported moderately high levels of intrinsic motivation to know, low levels of amotivation, and average levels of other types of motivations, 17.6%), [ 2 ] Controlled (i.e., students with moderately high levels of have-to motivation, moderately low levels of amotivation, and average levels on the want-to motivations, 26.0%), [ 3 ] Multifaceted (i.e., students with moderately high to very high levels on most types of motivation and low levels of amotivation, 15.0%), [ 8 ]. Unmotivated (i.e., students who reported low to moderately low scores on most types of motivation, but a moderately high score of amotivation, 25.4%), and [ 32 ].…”

“…In the same vein, students differ in dealing with setbacks, tasks that require long-term interest, and impulses that seem gratifying, but incongruent with academic goals (e.g., watching funny videos on TikTok, short clips about friends on Snapchat, or new celebrities’ photos in Instagram). Such divergence has prominent effects on students’ productivity and success in the academic and personal contexts (e.g., [ 2 , 8 , 9 ]).…”

“…Data on 525 university students were modeled using Latent Profile Analysis. The findings found three latent profiles, which were: [ 1 ] Unmotivated and undisciplined students with low grit , [ 2 ] Moderately motivated and disciplined students with average grit , and [ 3 ] Highly motivated, gritty and disciplined students . Gender, study level, and college significantly predicted profile affiliation, identifying the characteristics of students within each profile.…”