To examine the relationship of grit, an intrapersonal characteristic defined by perseverance and passion for long-term goals, to health care management skills and adolescent and young adult (AYA) health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Higher levels of grit were expected to relate to greater health care management skills and HRQoL, and skills were predicted to mediate the relationship between grit and HRQoL Four hundred seventy undergraduates (Mdn_age=19, interquartile range = 2) completed online questionnaires, including the short Grit Scale, Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire, and 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) (HRQoL) Higher grit related to greater health care management skills (R²=0.15 p<.001), higher mental HRQoL (R²=0.24, p<.001), and higher physical HRQoL (R²=0.11, p<.001). Health care management skills mediated the relationship between grit and physical HRQoL (p<.001), but not mental HRQoL (p>.05) This preliminary investigation illustrates the role of grit in AYA health, suggesting that it may be a target for interventions aimed at improving skills and HRQoL outcomes.

Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with chronic medical conditions are at increased risk for a host of negative psychosocial outcomes, including depressive and anxious symptoms. Although studies have shown that illness appraisals (e.g., illness intrusiveness [II] and illness uncertainty [IU]) demonstrate consistent associations with such outcomes, few studies have examined positive factors that may relate to better psychosocial outcomes and appraisals. The present study evaluated grit (i.e., perseverance and passion for long-term goals), a novel construct in pediatric psychology, as a positive factor that relates to reduced untoward effects of II and IU on psychosocial outcomes in AYAs with chronic medical conditions. College students with a chronic medical condition (N = 120) completed questionnaires online, including measures of grit, II, IU, depression, anxiety, and emotional well-being (EWB). The overall path analysis demonstrated that increased grit is directly associated with decreased depressive and anxious symptoms and increased EWB (p < .05). Further, analyses indicated that the positive association between grit and psychosocial outcomes is partially mediated by illness appraisals (p < .05). This study identified grit as a positive personal asset among AYAs with chronic medical conditions. By introducing a novel construct to the AYA literature, the study expands on the integration of positive psychology and pediatric psychology and underscores the need for greater research on the role of grit in chronic medical condition populations.

Objective: Caregivers of pediatric cancer patients are at risk for posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Previous literature has identified caregiver illness uncertainty as a predictor of PTSS, yet little is known about the mechanism by which illness uncertainty may affect PTSS. Rumination, or perseverations about the cause and consequences of an event, has been related to posttraumtic stress disorder in other populations. However, limited research of this relationship exists for pediatric cancer caregivers. Further, no studies have evaluated rumination in relation to illness uncertainty. The current study examined rumination in relation to illness uncertainty and PTSS in caregivers with children actively receiving treatment for cancer. It was hypothesized that rumination would be related to illness uncertainty and would mediate the relationship between illness uncertainty and PTSS. Methods: Caregivers (N = 59) completed the Parent Perception of Uncertainty Scale, Ruminative Responses Scale, and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised. Results: illness uncertainty was identified as a significant predictor of rumination (B = 0.148, p = .015), and rumination was a significant predictor of PTSS (B = 1.83, p < .001). Biased-corrected bootstrap regression analysis revealed that rumination mediated the relationship between illness uncertainty and PTSS (R² = 0.53, p < .001). Conclusions: Rumination was identified as a mediator between the relationship of illness uncertainty and PTSS. These findings underscore the importance of rumination in caregivers of children with cancer, as a potential construct for identifying caregivers at risk of PTSS, and as a possible mechanism for targeted intervention.