Passion or Perseverance? The Effect of Perceived Autonomy Support and Grit on Academic Performance in College Students.

Individuals who possess passion and perseverance to extensively work and study through challenges and adversity to achieve a set of goals are likely to reach higher achievement compared to others who lack similar facets. However, an under-researched question lingers over the effect of teacher-induced behaviors on academic outcomes such as grades and performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between teacher-induced autonomy support and student academic performance considering the mediating effect of basic psychological needs satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, and grit as two-independent factors.A convenience sample of 474 Sports Science students ( = 21.83 years; = 3.91) participated in the study. All participants completed a multi-section survey assessing the variables under analysis.The measurement and structural model displayed acceptable fit, hence direct and indirect effects were examined among the variables of interest. Basic psychological needs and intrinsic motivation seem to display a mediating role between perceived autonomy support and academic performance, through perseverance. Contrarily, grit-passion did not exhibit a significant indirect effect.Current results shed new insights on how perseverance can shape student motivation and school success considering the autonomy support induced by teachers.