title: The Role of Grit in College Student Health Care Management Skills and Health-Related Quality of Life.
abstract: To examine the relationship of grit, an intrapersonal characteristic defined by perseverance and passion for long-term goals, to health care management skills and adolescent and young adult (AYA) health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Higher levels of grit were expected to relate to greater health care management skills and HRQoL, and skills were predicted to mediate the relationship between grit and HRQoL.
  
  
  
  Four hundred seventy undergraduates (Mdnage=19, interquartile range = 2) completed online questionnaires, including the short Grit Scale, Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire, and 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) (HRQoL).
  
  
  
  Higher grit related to greater health care management skills (R2=0.15 p<.001), higher mental HRQoL (R2=0.24, p<.001), and higher physical HRQoL (R2=0.11, p<.001). Health care management skills mediated the relationship between grit and physical HRQoL (p<.001), but not mental HRQoL (p>.05).
  
  
  
  This preliminary investigation illustrates the role of grit in AYA health, suggesting that it may be a target for interventions aimed at improving skills and HRQoL outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University.
authors.forename: Christina M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Sharkey
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University.
authors.forename: Dana M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Bakula
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University.
authors.forename: Kaitlyn L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Gamwell
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University.
authors.forename: Alexandria J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Mullins
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Chaney
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University.
authors.forename: Larry L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Mullins
mesh_terms: D000073978:Academic Performance / Q000523:psychology*; D000293:Adolescent; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D000073278:Self-Management / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: health behavior; health promotion and prevention; psychosocial functioning; quality of life; resilience