The Role of Grit in Health Care Management Skills and Health-related Quality of Life in College Students with Chronic Medical Conditions.

PURPOSE

Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with chronic medical conditions are at risk for reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Recent research on AYAs without chronic medical conditions found that greater health care management skills were related to higher HRQoL. In addition, grit, an intrapersonal strength, has been linked to greater health care management skills and HRQoL. The current study extended these findings to AYAs with a chronic medical condition.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Three hundred and seventy-five undergraduates with a chronic medical condition completed questionnaires, including the short Grit Scale, Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire, and RAND 36-Item Short Form Survey.

RESULTS

Path analysis revealed a significant direct effect of grit on health care management skills and on both mental and physical HRQoL. Further, health care management skills had a significant indirect effect on the grit → mental HRQoL association, but not on the grit → physical HRQoL association.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher levels of grit were linked to better health care management skills and better mental and physical HRQoL. Further, grit and mental HRQoL were indirectly linked through health care management skills, suggesting the utility of these skills in improving mental HRQoL.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Given the observed benefits of higher grit and health care management skills on emotional HRQoL, and the potential impact of health care management skills on future physical HRQoL, interventions targeting the enhancement of grit and health care management skills may be beneficial in improving the efficacy of transition readiness interventions.