Grit, Self-Control, and Long-Term Academic Outcomes Among Medical Students in South West Nigerian Universities

This study investigates the roles of grit and self-control in predicting long-term academic outcomes among medical students in universities in South West Nigeria. Medical education demands sustained effort, delayed gratification, and recovery from repeated academic setbacks over a six-year programme, making it an ecologically valid context for examining non-cognitive predictors of academic success. The study employs a prospective longitudinal design, recruiting 240 first-year medical students from the University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University, and Lagos State University College of Medicine, with follow-up assessment at the end of their third year. The Grit Scale, the Brief Self-Control Scale, and three-year cumulative GPA and professional examination pass rates were used as instruments. Data were analysed using hierarchical regression and latent growth curve modelling. Results indicate that both grit and self-control significantly predict three-year academic outcomes after controlling for admission entry scores, with grit demonstrating stronger predictive utility for cumulative GPA and self-control more strongly predicting consistency in meeting assignment deadlines. The consistency of interest subscale of grit emerged as a stronger predictor than perseverance of effort for long-term academic persistence. These findings extend the non-cognitive predictors literature to professional health training in Nigeria and suggest that admissions and early support processes should consider psychological as well as academic criteria. Medical schools in South West Nigeria are advised to introduce grit and self-regulation development components into first-year orientation curricula. Keywords: grit, self-control, medical students, academic outcomes, South West Nigeria.