Relationship between grit and academic failure tolerance among nursing students: The mediating effect of psychological safety
TL;DR
Grit was shown to enhance academic-failure tolerance directly and indirectly by fostering psychological safety and universities should provide educational support systems that strengthen psychological safety to enhance students’ academic resilience.
Abstract
Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the mediating effect of psychological safety on the relationship between grit and academic-failure tolerance among nursing students.Methods: Data were collected from 168 nursing students recruited through online communities between October 13 and 27, 2025, using convenience sampling. The data were analyzed using independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and hierarchical regression analysis with IBM SPSS version 25.0. The mediating effect was further verified using bootstrapping via the SPSS PROCESS macro model 4.Results: Academic-failure tolerance was positively correlated with grit (r=.38, p<.001) and psychological safety (r=.34, p<.001), and grit showed a positive correlation with psychological safety (r=.29, p<.001). Controlling for sex, grit had a significant positive effect on both academic-failure tolerance (β=.36, p<.001) and psychological safety (β=.29, p<.001). The indirect effect of psychological safety was significant (lower limit of the 95% bootstrap confidence interval=0.02, upper limit of the 95% bootstrap confidence interval=0.10), indicating a partial mediating effect.Conclusion: Grit was shown to enhance academic-failure tolerance directly and indirectly by fostering psychological safety. Nursing students who perceive higher psychological safety may better tolerate academic failures. Therefore, universities should provide educational support systems that strengthen psychological safety to enhance students’ academic resilience.