Development and initial validation of a measure of academic hardiness

Drawing upon hardiness theory and research on academic motivation we develo ped and administered a measure of academic hardiness to a large sample of h igh school students. In line with theory- and research-derived expectations , results of both principal axis factor analyses (PAF) and confirmatory fac tor analyses (CFA) yielded support for a three-factor model of the construc t. Supplemental analyses indicated that, after controlling for general acad emic self-concept, the challenge subscale of our novel measure differentiat ed students who pursued more difficult academic coursework and educational plans from those who did not.