Investigating the Effect of Gratitude on the Relationship Between Parenting and Grit

• Published in: Psychology in the schools Vol. 62; no. 9; pp. 3440 - 3453
• Main Authors: Lam, Kelly Ka Lai, Zhou, Mingming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.09.2025
• Subjects: Child Rearing; College students; Gratitude; grit; mediation; moderation; Parental control; parenting; Parenting Styles; Parents & parenting; Perseveration; Sociocultural factors; Structural Equation Models; Students
• ISSN: 0033-3085; 1520-6807
• DOI: 10.1002/pits.23551

ABSTRACT Grit denotes an individual's passion and perseverance to accomplish a long‐term goal despite obstacles and challenges. It has been consistently supported by its beneficial effect in promoting students’ educational, developmental, and psychological outcomes. Yet less is known about how to shape and foster grit from parents’ perspectives and the mechanism underlying this process. To fill this gap, we adopted a sociocultural view of grit and conducted a cross‐sectional study examining the mediating and moderating effects of gratitude in the relationship between parenting (parental concern and parental control) and grit. Self‐reported data were collected from 326 university students in China. Subsequent Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analyses showed that gratitude mediated the relationship between parental concern and the two grit facets (consistency of interest and perseverance of effort). Further hierarchical regression analyses showed that gratitude had a small moderating effect on the relation between parental concern and consistency of interest. The findings supported different roles of the two types of parenting practices (concern vs. control) in student grit development via gratitude. As our results supported that students with a higher level of gratitude benefited more from the positive relationship between parental concern and consistency of interest in achieving long‐term goals, more attention can be paid to this group of students. Summary Students’ gratitude fully mediated the relationship between parental concern and grit (both consistency of interest and perseverance of effort). Students’ gratitude exerted a significant but small moderating effect on the relationship between parental concern and consistency of interest. Interventions that encompass loving and warm parenting and gratitude practice can be a desirable approach to promote students’ grit.