Chinese Undergraduates' Mindset-Grit Profiles and the Link With Mental Health

Given the rising concerns about well-being in higher education, it is crucial to understand how personal resources and strengths affect undergraduates’ mental health. Grounded in an integrative framework of motivation, personality, and development, this study aims to identify mindset-grit profiles and further examines their associations with subjective well-being and psychological symptoms. Five subgroups were identified among 672 Chinese undergraduates, labeled fixed-passive, fixed-consistency, balanced-uncommitted, growth-inconsistency, and growth-thriving profiles, respectively. Undergraduates in the growth-thriving profile demonstrated superior mental health. Notably, students in the fixed-consistency profile reported comparable life satisfaction to those in the growth-thriving profile; while the remaining subgroups exhibited less favorable mental health patterns. These findings highlight the value of cultivating growth mindsets and grit simultaneously, thus promoting mental health resilience.