Developmental Trajectories of Grit Dimensions in Korean Adolescents: A Latent Class Growth Analysis

This study examined longitudinal changes in grit during adolescence by identifying heterogeneous developmental trajectories of its two dimensions: consistency of interest and perseverance of effort. We employed latent class growth analysis to model developmental trajectories of grit using four-wave data from the adolescent cohort (N = 2,590, first-year middle school students at Wave 1) of the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey 2018. Additionally, we explored early precursors (i.e., parenting styles at Wave 1) of trajectory classes and examined how class membership was associated with psychological well-being (e.g., life satisfaction at Wave 4). Results revealed three distinctive grit trajectories over four years: Moderate-Decreasing (72.9%), Low-Stable (17.6%), and High-Decreasing (9.5%). Parenting styles characterized by rejection and chaos predicted class membership. Adolescents in the High-Decreasing class reported the highest levels of psychological well-being, followed by those in the Moderate-Decreasing and Low-Stable classes. Our findings underscore the importance of identifying developmental heterogeneity in grit trajectories.