Building sociometric status contributes to grit: The roles of psychological capital and family subjective socioeconomic status mobility

Although research on grit has covered many fields, understanding its antecedents and formation mechanisms remains insufficient. In particular, a notable gap exists in understanding the role of sociometric status, a crucial indicator of social resources, on grit. Grounded in the conservation of resources theory, this study examined the relationship between sociometric status and two facets of grit: perseverance of effort (PE) and consistency of interest (CI). Further, it explored the mediating role of psychological capital and the moderating role of family subjective socioeconomic status (FSSS) mobility. 1,060 Chinese students participated. The findings revealed several key insights: (a) sociometric status was positively correlated with both PE and CI; (b) sociometric status increased psychological capital, which in turn improved PE rather than CI; (c) the association between sociometric status and PE, through psychological capital, was stronger in cases of upward FSSS mobility compared to downward mobility. These results significantly advance our understanding of how sociometric status fosters PE and CI among students, providing a nuanced perspective on the application of the conservation of resources theory, particularly its “gain spiral” and “social ecology nurturing resources” frameworks.