title: Grit: A Potential Protective Factor Against Substance Use and Other Risk Behaviors Among Latino Adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Grit, defined as "working strenuously toward challenges, maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress," is strongly associated with academic achievement and life success and may also be associated with health outcomes and behaviors. We examined predictors of grit, and the association between grit and health behaviors among at-risk Latino adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed baseline survey data collected in 2013-2014 from a sample of 1270 9th graders in low-income neighborhoods of Los Angeles. We examined factors associated with grit and whether grit is associated with substance use and delinquent behaviors, controlling for adolescent and parent sociodemographic factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In a sample of mostly Latino adolescents (89.5%), compared to those with low grit, those with high grit had significantly lower odds of alcohol use in the last 30 days (odds ratio 0.30, P < .001), marijuana use (odds ratio 0.21, P < .05), and fighting (odds ratio 0.58, P < .05). Involvement in delinquent behavior was also lower (β = -0.71, P < .001). Factors associated with more grit included authoritative parenting style, parental employment, and high self-efficacy scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Grit may be an important candidate protective factor against substance use and other risk behaviors among Latino adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine/Health Services Research, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Calif. Electronic address: lguerrero@mednet.ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Lourdes R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Guerrero
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA Children's Discovery and Innovation Institute, Mattel Children's Hospital, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Calif.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dudovitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA Children's Discovery and Innovation Institute, Mattel Children's Hospital, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Calif; The RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif; Department of Health Policy and Management, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Calif.
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine/Health Services Research, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Calif.
authors.forename: Kulwant K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Dosanjh
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine/Health Services Research, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Calif.
authors.forename: Mitchell D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016014:Linear Models; D015141:Los Angeles / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D016487:Parenting; D010290:Parents; D011203:Poverty; D065840:Protective Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000066608:Underage Drinking / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Latinos; adolescents; grit; noncognitive skills; risk behaviors; substance use