scholarly journals Exploring the relationship between medical student basic psychological need satisfaction, resilience, and well-being: a quantitative study

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Neufeld ◽  
Greg Malin

Abstract Background There is increasing acknowledgment that medical training is stressful for students and can impact their well-being. An important aspect of this is self-determination and basic psychological need satisfaction. A better understanding of how medical student perceptions of the learning environment impacts their basic psychological needs for motivation, resilience, and well-being may help to create learning environments that support the needs of medical students and help them become better healthier physicians. We aim to add to the literature on this topic by examining this relationship through the lens of Self-Determination Theory. Methods A total of 400 students from all 4 years of the medical program at our institution were invited to complete an anonymous online survey, measuring basic need satisfaction/frustration (autonomy, competence, relatedness) within the learning environment, resilience, and psychological well-being. We used analysis of variance to assess the effect of gender, age, and year on all variables, with t-tests to compare subgroups. Structural equation modelling was performed to test a hypothesized model in which support of medical students’ basic needs would positively relate to their resilience and well-being. Results The response rate was 183/400 (46%). After data cleaning, 160 remained: 67 males (42%) and 93 females (58%). There were 67 first years (42%), 35 second years (22%), 30 third years (19%), and 28 fourth years (18%). The sample mean age was 25.8 years (SD = 4.1). A well-fitting model was confirmed to fit the data, χ2 = 3.15, df = 3, p = 0.369, RMSEA = 0.018, SRMR = 0.022, CFI = 0.999. Autonomy and relatedness satisfaction exerted direct effects on well-being. Competence satisfaction did so indirectly, through its direct effect on resilience. Female medical students had lower resilience scores compared to their male peers. Conclusions When medical students perceived their learning environment as supportive to their basic needs, it was associated with an increase in their psychological well-being. Satisfaction of competence, but not autonomy or relatedness, predicted an increase in their resilience. Fostering medical students’ basic needs for motivation, especially competence, is recommended to support their resilience and well-being. Further research is required to generalize these results further.

Rheumatology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A Ingram ◽  
Peter C Rouse ◽  
Martyn Standage ◽  
Elizabeth Reilly ◽  
Raj Sengupta

Abstract Background People living with non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) often suffer poor psychological health. Social support has been identified as one way to enhance psychological well-being, yet little research has examined the relationship between quality of support provided by important others and indicators of well-being in people living with nr-axSpA. Thus, the aim of this study is to examine whether important other autonomy support predicts symptoms of subjective vitality, depression and anxiety and test if this relationship is mediated by the three innate basic psychological needs (autonomy - a sense of ownership and volition over actions and behaviours; competence - feeling effective and capable of achieving valued outcomes; relatedness - experiencing closeness and genuine connection, with valued others) as specified by Self Determination Theory (SDT). Methods Sixty three participants living with nr-axSpA (M Age = 43.16 years; SD = 11.17; female = 58.73%) were recruited from a specialist rheumatology hospital via the Bath Spondyloarthritis Biobank. Spinal mobility was assessed using the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index (M = 1.83; SD = 1.2; range = 5). Questionnaires measuring important other autonomy support, basic psychological need satisfaction, subjective vitality, depression severity and anxiety severity were completed. Mediation analyses were conducted via three linear regressions and bootstrapping for subjective vitality, anxiety and depressive symptoms. Results Important other autonomy support was significantly and positively related to subjective vitality (β = .32, p = .01), and significantly and negatively related to symptoms of depression (β = -.32, p = .02) and anxiety (β = -.31, p = .03). Important other autonomy support also demonstrated a significant positive relationship with basic psychological need satisfaction (β = .27, p <.05). Basic psychological need satisfaction had a significant positive relationship with subjective vitality (β = .58, p < .01; R2 = .37) and a significant negative relationship with depressive symptoms (β = -.57, p < .01; R2 = .35) and anxiety (β = -.50, p <.01; R2 = .30). Assessment of the indirect effects revealed that basic psychological need satisfaction did not mediate the relationships between important other autonomy support and subjective vitality (b = .15, 95% BC CI -.04, .34), depressive symptoms (b = -.06, 95% BC CI -.16, .01) and anxiety (b = -.08, 95% BC CI -.19, .03). Conclusion Both important other autonomy support and basic psychological needs were significantly related to psychological well-being. Yet, basic psychological need satisfaction did not mediate the relationships between important other autonomy support with subjective vitality, depressive symptoms and anxiety. Healthcare interventions could help important others to improve the quality of their support and try to increase a sense of autonomy, competence and relatedness satisfaction in people living with nr-axSpA to enhance the psychological well-being of people living with nr-axSpA. Disclosures T.A. Ingram None. P.C. Rouse None. M. Standage None. E. Reilly None. R. Sengupta None.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4885
Author(s):  
Josephine Tröger ◽  
Marlis C. Wullenkord ◽  
Clara Barthels ◽  
Rubina Steller

Sufficiency is a sustainability strategy aiming for (1) a decrease in absolute resource consumption on individual and societal levels, and (2) for socio-ecological justice and the fair distribution of costs and benefits of resource use to meet every human’s basic needs. This study examined a longitudinal intervention to foster individual sufficiency orientation (i.e., a multidimensional construct including both attitudes towards the sufficiency sustainability strategy and corresponding behavioral intentions). We recruited N = 252 participants who participated in a one-week reflective diary-intervention to increase sufficiency orientation in everyday life and assessed sufficiency orientation, basic psychological need satisfaction, self-reflection, subjective well-being, and time affluence before (T1), directly after (T2), and four weeks after the intervention (T3). Contrary to our predictions, there was no significant difference between the experimental and the control group. Sufficiency orientation increased across groups. Basic psychological need satisfaction was the strongest predictor of sufficiency orientation. There were positive relations with subjective well-being. Targeting basic psychological need satisfaction, as a potential underlying driver of sufficiency orientation, seems to be a promising avenue for designing interventions. Employing a need-based, humanistic approach to designing psychological interventions is in line with the aims of sufficiency to meet every human’s basic needs, in a socio-ecologically just world.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josephine Tröger ◽  
Marlis Wullenkord ◽  
Clara Barthels ◽  
Rubina Steller

Sufficiency (i.e. adequacy, enoughness) is a sustainability strategy aiming for (1) a decrease in absolute resource consumption on individual and societal levels and (2) for social and ecological justice and the fair distribution of costs and benefits of resource use to meet every human’s basic needs. This study aimed at examining a longitudinal intervention to foster sufficiency orientation at the individual level. We recruited N=252 participants who participated in a one-week reflective diary-intervention to increase sufficiency orientation in every-day life and assessed sufficiency orientation, basic psychological need satisfaction, self-reflection, subjective well-being, and time affluence before (T1), directly after (T2), and four weeks after the intervention (T3). Contrary to our predictions, there was no significant difference between the experimental and the control group. Nevertheless, people with higher basic psychological need satisfaction and subjective well-being reported higher sufficiency orientation. Given the positive relation of basic psychological need satisfaction and sufficiency orientation, targeting basic psychological need satisfaction as an underlying driver seems to be a promising avenue for designing effective interventions. Employing a needs-based, humanistic approach to design psychological interventions is in line with the aims of sufficiency to meet every human’s basic needs, in a both socially and ecologically just world.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 289
Author(s):  
Marcus Mueller ◽  
Geoff Lovell ◽  
◽  

Senior executives’ decisions can have a substantial impact on their own lives, their families, their organizations’ workers and employees, and society. This quantitative study (1) investigated the relationship between basic psychological need satisfaction (BPNS) at work and psychological well-being (PWB) in 142 senior executives as antecedent of their decision making and (2) compared the results to two other managerial level samples of 260 managers and 445 employees. The results have implications for theory and practice. Our findings contribute the new theoretical perspectives of differences in the relationship between BPNS at work and PWB by managerial level and senior executives’ gender (‘complementarity effect’). In turn, our research provides evidence for practical organizational applications such as the design and implementation of effective human resource development programs based on BPNS. Our findings further underscore the importance of senior executive psychology as a field of academic inquiry and provide directions for future research focused on further improving senior executives’ optimal functioning.


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