Psychometric Evaluation of the Grit Psychological Resources Scale (GPRS)

BACKGROUND: Psychological resources have been shown to play a prominent role in buffering against stress and are associated with various positive constructs, including grit, defined as having the disposition to pursue long-term goals with both passion and perseverance. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to validate a new scale developed to measure the psychological resources of grit. METHODS: A quantitative research study was conducted online with an international sample of 277 adults from a range of professional backgrounds. The psychometric properties of the 20-item Grit Psychological Resources Scale (GPRS) were evaluated by performing tests of reliability and validity. RESULTS: Reliability tests provided evidence of high internal consistency (α = 0.91) and test–retest reliability (r = 0.75). Demographic variables did not significantly predict scores or influence survey completion. Face, content and convergent validity provided additional psychometric support for the GPRS with this sample. Confirmatory factor analysis results supported a second-order model with four sub-scales. The first-order factors loaded highly onto the second-order factor, with correlations ranging from 0.80 to 0.97. CONCLUSION: The GPRS showed satisfactory psychometric properties, indicating that the scale is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring the psychological resources of grit. This scale can be used to identify more targeted developmental approaches for personal and professional growth. Further, the tool enables information to be gathered on changes pre- and post-improvement initiatives to assess their effectiveness in training and continuing education.