Abstract:
This study examined the relationships among perceived parental autonomy support (PAS), sense of coherence (SOC), and grit in a sample of 328 Pakistani adolescents (ages 13–18). Grounded in Self-Determination Theory and salutogenic perspectives, the research tested whether SOC mediates the association between PAS and adolescents’ grit, and whether mother and father autonomy-supportive pathways differ. Participants completed validated measures of parental autonomy support, SOC, and grit; data were analyzed using reliability analysis, Pearson correlations, and PLS-SEM. Results demonstrated acceptable internal consistency for the instruments (α = .70–.75) and positive associations among the study variables: PAS correlated strongly with SOC (r = .60) and moderately with grit (r = .49); SOC correlated moderately with grit (r = .50). In the structural model, PAS predicted grit directly (β = .302, p < .001) and strongly predicted SOC (β = .604, p < .001); SOC also predicted grit (β = .318, p < .001). The indirect effect of PAS on grit via SOC was significant (indirect = .192, p < .001), indicating partial mediation (39% of the total effect). Parent-specific analyses suggested father autonomy support exerted both direct and indirect effects on grit, while mother autonomy support influenced grit primarily through SOC. Findings underscore that autonomy-supportive parenting fosters adolescents’ perseverance partly by enhancing a coherent, meaningful orientation to life.
