Psychological Correlates of Grit Among Nigerian University Students: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study of Distress, Mindfulness, Resilience and Social Support

Abstract

Background: Grit, commonly defined as perseverance and sustained interest in long-term goals, has been associated with achievement and psychological well-being. Its associations with both psychological distress and positive psychological resources remain underexamined among university students in sub-Saharan Africa. This study examined the relationships of grit with terrorism catastrophising, anxiety, depressive symptoms, mindfulness, resilience and social support among Nigerian undergraduates. Methods: An exploratory cross-sectional survey recruited 161 undergraduate sociology students at Kaduna State University through convenience sampling during a departmental event. Participants completed the Short Grit Scale, 14-item Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory, 25-item Resilience Scale, 3-item Oslo Social Support Scale, 13-item Terrorism Catastrophizing Scale and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Pearson correlations assessed bivariate relationships. A one-way multivariate analysis of variance compared participants categorised as having high versus low grit across six psychosocial outcomes, followed by Bonferroni adjusted univariate analyses. Results: Participants had a mean age of 25.39 years (SD 5.42); 100 (62.1%) were male. Grit correlated inversely with terrorism catastrophising (r=-0.264, p<0.001), depressive symptoms (r=-0.205, p=0.009) and anxiety symptoms (r=-0.188, p=0.017), and positively with mindfulness (r=0.338, p<0.001) and resilience (r=0.278, p<0.001). Its correlation with social support was not statistically significant (r=0.128, p=0.106). The multivariate difference between grit groups was significant (Wilks lambda=0.821, F[6,154]=5.604, p<0.001, partial eta-squared=0.179). At the Bonferroni-adjusted alpha of 0.008, high-grit participants had lower terrorism catastrophising scores (F[1,159]=11.06, p=0.001, partial eta-squared=0.065) and higher mindfulness scores (F[1,159]=22.04, p<0.001, partial eta-squared=0.122). Conclusion: In this single-department convenience sample, grit showed small-to-moderate associations with lower psychological distress and higher mindfulness and resilience. Mindfulness and terrorism catastrophising most clearly distinguished the predefined grit groups. The cross-sectional design, uncertain cut-offs, low Grit-S internal consistency and restricted sample preclude causal or population-level conclusions. Multi-site longitudinal research should validate the measurement of grit in Nigerian students and test its relationship with objective academic outcomes.