The Moderating Role of Autonomy Support Profiles in the Association Between Grit and Externalizing Problem Behavior Among Family-Bereaved Adolescents

Abstract

Research has consistently documented that the death of a close family member can disrupt a family's functional equilibrium and has a deleterious effect on adolescents' adaptation; however, little attention has been paid to behavioral adaptation of adolescents after a loss in a collective setting. Attempting to fill this research gap, the objectives of the current study are: (1) to identify autonomy support profiles based on two centered figures (parents and head teachers) and (2) to examine whether these emerging profiles may moderate the association between the two dimensions of grit (perseverance and consistency) and externalizing problem behavior in Chinese family-bereaved adolescents. A total of 763 family-bereaved adolescents aged from 13 to 18 years (60.3% girls; M age = 15.74; SD = 1.53) were involved in the current study; they were asked to fill a battery of self-report questionnaires. A latent profile analysis revealed three autonomy support profiles: high parental autonomy supporthigh teacher autonomy support (HPHT; n = 598), high parental autonomy support-low teacher autonomy support (HPLT; n = 34), and low parental autonomy support-low teacher autonomy support (LPLT; n = 131). Moreover, results from linear regression analyses, after controlling for relevant bereavement variables, sociodemographics, and social desirability, showed that perseverance and consistency were negatively related to externalizing problem behavior for adolescents within the HPHL profile; nevertheless, the association between perseverance and externalizing problem behavior turned to be positive for adolescents within the HPLT profile. The current study sheds light on the variability of the association between grit and family-bereaved adolescents' behavioral adaptation and further enriches the beneficial effect of autonomy support on adaptive functions in a collective cultural setting. The interplay between grit and autonomy support from parents and teachers has a significant influence on buffering externalizing problem behavior among family-bereaved adolescents.

Parental Attachment and Problematic Internet Use among Chinese Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Gender and Grit

“…The average score of all items was calculated, with a higher score indicating a higher grit level. This scale has shown good internal consistency based on prior research in Chinese adolescents [27,28]. In this study, Cronbach's alpha was 0.80.…”

“…Theoretically, Bronfenbrenner's socio-ecological theory highlights that adolescents' development occurs in the context of multiple interacting environmental systems [10]. Research has increasingly recognized grit as one of the important individual characteristics in facilitating adolescent adaptive behavioral patterns [26][27][28][29]. Culturally, as delineated by a Chinese proverb, "it takes more than one cold day for a river to freeze a meter deep", diligence, perseverance, and determination are highly emphasized in traditional Chinese culture [26,27].…”

Examining the Relationship Between Grit and Foreign Language Performance: Enjoyment and Anxiety as Mediators

“…The scale demonstrated good internal reliability among Chinese adolescents (Li J. et al, 2018 ; Wei et al, 2019 ; Feng and Lan, 2020 ). In this study ( N = 697), the Cronbach's alphas of the global grit scale and its two subscales of persistence of effort and consistency of interest were 0.73, 0.71, and 0.69, respectively.…”

Uncovering the Moderating Role of Grit and Gender in the Association between Teacher Autonomy Support and Social Competence among Chinese Undergraduate Students

“…Autonomy support refers to an interpersonal style in which significant figures (e.g., teachers) take their students’ perspective into account, present rationales for demands, acknowledge their feelings, and provide opportunities for choice and self-determination [ 16 , 17 , 18 ]. In this study, we center on teacher autonomy support based on the following considerations.…”

“…It is well documented that teacher autonomy support plays an important role in the adaptive functioning of individuals [ 22 ], also including peer relatedness and competence [ 20 ]. This is mainly because the autonomy-supportive motivating style in the classroom catalyzes engagement-fostering motivations and encourages students to independently explore and validate their perspectives, which may engender a sense of control and mastery and facilitate their optimal development [ 18 ]. Despite these theoretical and empirical indications, there are still some open questions that merit further investigation.…”