Research on military education and psychology has long focused on crucial topics such as school adaptation and educational training (Yen & Chiu, 2008). The goal of military school is to prepare cadets to become outstanding officers. The dual demands of studying both college courses and military skills can present challenges for cadets as they strive to adapt to military life. Military cadets differ substantially from regular college students. Therefore, discussing the psychological state of military cadets is vital.

Studies have revealed that grit has a crucial influence in the military field. Grit strongly affects military cadets in terms of their psychological and environmental adaptation, academic and physical performance, and psychological and behavioral performance and directly reduces suspension and dropout rates (Chang & Hsiung, 2023; Duckworth et al., 2007; Eskreis- Winkler et al., 2014; Kelly et al., 2014). One study asserted that soldiers who had a high level of grit when facing high pressure and demands could maintain focus on their goals and strive to perform highly (Teasley et al., 2021). If grit can be cultivated, it may help reduce the current difficulties faced by military academies.

Grit, as conceptualized by Duckworth et al. (2007), is a personality trait that comprises two subdimensions: Perseverance of effort and consistency of interest, which involve an individual’s ability to persevere in achieving their long-term goals over an extended period despite setbacks. Grit can trigger positive psychological effects, can reduce negative thinking and behavior, and is positively related to environmental adaptation and achievement. Multiple studies have found that the effects of grit vary depending on cultural factors and specific domains (Banse & Palacios, 2018; Caza & Posner, 2019; Clark & Malecki, 2019; Cormier et al., 2019; Datu, 2017; Datu et al., 2018; Jachimowicz et al., 2018).

In Taiwan, Hsiung and Yu (2022) constructed the Military Cadets’ Grit Scale (MCGS) by employing four empirical studies. The MCGS comprises five dimensions. “Goal commitment” indicates the degree to which a cadet works toward achieving military goals; “interpersonal support” refers to the degree of positive cognitive, emotional, and material support received from others; “self-efficacy” refers to cadets’ self-confidence in their knowledge and abilities; having a “growth mindset” refers to the practice of positive thinking, engagement in challenging tasks, and reflection on the positive aspects of setbacks and difficulties; and “positive response” indicates that cadets demonstrate positive behavior and cognition.

Conservation of resources theory (COR) states that when faced with a stressful event, an individual first evaluate the resources at their disposal; if the individual believes that their resource levels are high, they can cope with stress more effectively. COR theory echoes broaden-and-build theory, which posits that when an individual is in a positive emotional state, they can conserve and amass their resources to actively solve problems. According to our literature review, grit directly reduces thoughts related to depression and dropout, facilitates adjustment to school, and enhances subjective well-being. Therefore, depression and school adaptation play mediating roles between grit and subjective well-being and between grit and thoughts of dropping out. In addition, grit can lead to enhanced physical performance (Kelly et al., 2014; Larkin et al., 2016) and reduced depression (Jin & Kim, 2017), which are urgent concerns in the military field.

This study gathered empirical data on military education and psychology to examine the effects of grit on the psychology and behavior of military cadets and provide specific suggestions for the future selection, training, and counseling of military personnel.

To test the study’s research hypotheses, we invited 3,520 cadets to complete a self-reported questionnaire and collected a list (N = 14) of military cadets among these 3,520 who dropped out within the 3 months after completing the questionnaire. A total of 2,566 valid samples were obtained after deleting invalid responses. We employed structural equation modeling, with group 1 (N = 1,282) as the modeling sample and group 2 (N = 1,284) as the validation sample.

This study first constructed and verified a model describing the effect of military cadets’ level of grit on their depression, ability to adjust to the school environment, subjective well-being, and thoughts of dropping out. Depression and school adaptation had mediating effects; they fully mediated the effects of level of grit on subjective well-being and thoughts of dropping out. These findings suggest that improving grit can significantly affect cadets’ adaptability and well-being. Second, higher total scores in grit, as well as higher scores in the sub-dimensions of growth mindset, self-efficacy, and goal commitment, were associated with better physical performance. Third, we constructed a predictive mathematical formula to analyze the effect of grit level on actual dropout behavior and found that goal commitment and self-efficacy scores had the strongest effects on actual dropout behavior, accounting for approximately 75.09% of the predicted outcome. Fourth, with respect to dropout behavior, the effect of grit was stronger than that of other variables.

This study revealed that grit could improve the overall physical and mental development of cadets as well as their school adaptation, subjective well-being, and physical performance. Grit was also discovered to reduce depression, thoughts of dropping out, and specific dropout behaviors. The results of this study indicate that grit is more effective in improving positive factors (i.e., school adaptation and subjective well-being) than in reducing negative factors (i.e., depression and thoughts of dropping out).

Military organizations are cultural environments characterized by disciplinary systems and strict punishment rules. The effect of punishment is immediate but temporary and does not improve long-term performance. However, military academies expect to cultivate cadres with a long-term commitment to the organizational culture of the military, and punishment may increase the likelihood of cadet dropout. In the future, military schools should consider how to promote behavior change in military cadets with a delayed effect and appropriately balance positive education with punishment.

Depression and school adaptation played mediating roles in the present study’s model. Iindividual cadets have the potential to develop and cultivate grit over time. However, the process of transforming a personality trait like grit may take longer compared to changing other psychological variables. Some individuals have a low initial grit level. We believe that first lowering depression scores may help improve school adaptation, reduce thoughts of dropping out, improve subjective well-being, and potentially enhance an individual’s other positive resources.

Grit improved physical performance. Improving the physical performance of military cadets requires not only physical strength development and skills training but also an emphasis on psychological training. The physical training of cadets can incorporate imitation of successful role models, access to effective information, the setting of challenging but realistic goals, and the accumulation and grouping of small goals into large goals.

Grit can also be used as an auxiliary tool in personnel recruitment, educational training, and psychotherapy. Military recruiters should select recruits with a high level of grit because they are less likely to leave their job mid-career. This study hypothesized that grit can significantly improve the ability of military cadets. However, whether the conceptual connotations of grit can be directly extended to military careers requires additional empirical research. For example, it remains uncertain whether the level of grit exhibited by military cadets can predict their work performance and inclination to leave the military upon assuming officer roles.

Military education should focus on cultivating positive traits and attitudes in addition to cultivating military and professional skills. The present results revealed a strong correlation between dropout and psychological qualities. Therefore, schools should cultivate the five dimensions of grit. The current system should be amended on the basis of educational planning and implementation methods. This study posited that counseling measures that target the enhancement of grit in cadets can help prevent dropout. We recommend that future research examine the relationship between grit and other military training results to comprehensively analyze the development of military cadets’ grit and infer potential causal relationships.

Finally, grit may be related to positive psychological concepts such as hope, altruism, resilience, family upbringing, and a growth environment. Therefore, future researchers should analyze differences in the levels of grit between military cadets and other psychological phenomena basis on theoretical models and investigate factors such as differences in participants’ environments and family backgrounds. Future studies can also examine whether grit has a mediating or moderating effect on other variables, thus gaining a deeper understanding of the application value of grit and development potential within military education.