Perseverancia, pasión y actitud de vida en tiempos del “ya-ya y ya-fue”

This study -part of a broader one- whose objectives aims to describe life attitude and grit in students of a military college in Argentina and analyze the relation between the dimensions that make up the two mentioned constructs and various sociodemographic variables. A non-probabilistic and convenience sample integrates the age group inserted in the society of uncertainty and immediacy, also called the “ya ya o ya fue” (García Pintos, 2012) where young people tend to abandon their projects (Messing, 2009). The personal sense as a construct is conceptualized as the existential belief that life has a purpose. Reker and Woo (2011) claim that people draw meaning from a variety of sources, including recreational activities, meeting basic needs, creative activities, personal relationships, personal and academic achievements. This sense of life is the knowledge that each person needs to know to develop their vital objectives. Grit, defined as the passion and perseverance to achieve long-term goals, implies resisting with effort and interest the challenges that may arise, regardless of the difficulties, the monotony and any failures experienced. It is a quality shared by leaders (Duckworth, 127 Peterson, Matthews and Kelly, 2007), particularly those who set medium and long-range objectives and who cling to them to make them a reality. The sample was composed of 160 students, who were administered an ad hoc sociodemographic questionnaire, the Grit Scale (Duckworth et al., 2007), which is in the process of validation (Tortul and Daura, in evaluation) and the Life Attitude Test (LAP-R (VE-AA) in the Argentinian adaptation (Barni, 2017). A correlational descriptive statistical analysis was carried out. The results showed that the participants score high on Purpose (P), Choice/ Responsibility (C/R) dimensions of the LAP-R and Effort Perseverance of Grit. The analysis showed that there are no significant differences by age group except in the E/R dimension –the group of 20 to 25 years have the highest scores–. When divided into age range and gender, women show significant differences in the Existential Vacuum (VE) dimension and men have a tendency in the E/R and P dimensions of the Life Attitude test. In conclusion, this work shows relevant information in professional training, decision making in the educational style and institutional management to collaborate in the integral and professional training as specific and particular as the military, in aspects such as character formation, leadership, etc., especially in times where the radical and immediate changes complicate the forecast of the knowledge involved in future professional performances. However, it is known that the skills of the Grit and the attitude of life collaborate in the vital projects.