Extending Grit: A Study of College Students’ Identity, Sense of Belonging, and Grit as Predictors of John Henryism

Abstract

This study predicted the extent to which college students utilize John Henryism (effortful, active coping) as a function of their identity, sense of belonging, and grit. We conducted two hierarchical multiple regression analyses with moderation: one assessing grit passion (adjusted R2 = .26) and the other assessing grit perseverance (adjusted R2 = .43). We identified main effects related to John Henryism for each model—identifying as Black, feeling a stronger sense of belonging, and having grit—and one interaction between Latinx students and their White peers. Findings suggest that grit and John Henryism may be distinct but complementary concepts and that Latinx and White students may differently perceive the impact of school-related passion when it is underpinned by John Henryism.