The relationship between the perception of reduced performance due to injury or illness and basic psychological need satisfaction in Norwegian youth elite handball: a cross-lagged panel analysis

This study investigated the relationship between perceived reduction in performance due to injury or illness (RPII) and basic psychological need satisfaction in youth elite handball. Participants were 174 elite youth handball players between 15 to 18 years of age, from five different sport schools. It was a quantitative study, with two time points (one week apart), resulting in a crossed-lagged structural equation model. Competence and relatedness satisfaction were found invariant across the two time points, autonomy was not. The structural model showed good fit ((S- B χ²) = [df = 130, N= 174] = 182.327, p < .0017; CFI = .96; RMSEA = .05 [.03-.06], and SRMR = .08). Competence (β= .64, 95%CI: .51, .76), relatedness (β= .77, 95%CI: .66, .88) and RPII (β= .51, 95%CI: .37, .66) showed moderate temporal stability. When accounting for previous levels of the basic psychological needs, RPII negatively predicted competence (β= -.20, 95%CI: -.35, .83) and relatedness (β= -.16, 95%CI: -.30, -.01). Taken together, these findings suggest that experiencing RPII can have implications for basic psychological need satisfaction in youth elite handball, showing that factors other than psychosocial ones may play a role therein.

Does Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction Matter to College Students’ Sustained Volunteering? A Mixed-Methods Study

Based on the self-determination theory (SDT), this study used a mixed-methods (i.e., quantitative and qualitative approaches) design to explore the role of basic psychological need satisfaction (BPNS) played in sustained volunteering. Quantitative analysis of 803 college student volunteers revealed that competence and relatedness need satisfaction had significant associations with sustained volunteering, while autonomy need satisfaction did not. Furthermore, latent profile analyses identified five profiles of BPNS: low (Profile 1), relatively low (Profile 2), moderate (Profile 3), low autonomy-high competence and relatedness (Profile 4), and high (Profile 5). Volunteers in Profile 4 and Profile 5 reported higher sustained volunteering than those in other profiles. Subsequent qualitative synthesis of interview data from 33 college student volunteers found that competence need satisfaction (45.58%) was mentioned most frequently among the factors promoting sustained volunteering, then followed by relatedness (27.43%) and autonomy need satisfaction (11.06%). These findings highlight the important role of BPNS, especially competence and relatedness need satisfaction, in promoting college students’ long-term volunteering.

Translation and Validation of the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction in Active Commuting to and from School (BPNS-ACS) Scale in Young Portuguese Students

Active commuting to and from school (ACS) is a strategy to enhance physical activity levels in youths. To promote ACS, it is important to understand the factors that lead to this behaviour. With this in mind, an adaptation of the Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale for ACS was developed, named the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction in Active Commuting to and from School (BPNS-ACS) scale. This study aimed to translate and evaluate the psychometric properties of the BPNS-ACS scale in young Portuguese students. A cross-sectional study was designed. A total of 338 students (212 girls, 126 boys), aged between 11 and 19 years old from 31 Portuguese cities participated in this study. To provide validity evidence based on the questionnaire’s internal structure, confirmatory factor analyses were performed to test the three dimensions of the BNPS-ACS scale. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis indicated an acceptable fit to the data. The internal consistency of the measures was accepted as the composite reliability values ranged from 0.78 to 0.94. The evaluation of psychometric properties provided evidence of the adequacy of this questionnaire among Portuguese youth aged 11 to 19 years old.

How Can We Improve Teacher’s Work Engagement? Based on Chinese Experiences

Drawing on Self-Determination Theory, the current study analysed the relationship between teachers’ perceived autonomy support and work engagement while it also explored the mediating effect of basic psychological need satisfaction and intrinsic motivation. The study investigated 520 elementary teachers in Beijing, and we found the following: (1) teachers in different groups reported diverse senses of perceived autonomy support, in that teachers with less teaching experience as well as those with a master’s degree have a higher score regarding the perceptions of teacher autonomy; and (2) teacher autonomy can affect work engagement not only in terms of the satisfaction of basic psychological needs but also by the chain of satisfaction of basic psychological needs and intrinsic motivation. Teachers with more autonomy support will have higher basic psychological need satisfaction and stronger teaching motivation, which will further enhance their work engagement.

Existential Therapy for Children: Impact of a Philosophy for Children Intervention on Positive and Negative Indicators of Mental Health in Elementary School Children

Background: Philosophy for children (P4C) was initially developed in the 1970s and served as an educational program to promote critical thinking, caring, creative reasoning and inquiry in the educational environment. Quasi-experimental research on P4C, a school-based approach that aims to develop children’s capacity to think by and for themselves, has suggested it could be an interesting intervention to foster greater basic psychological need satisfaction in children in school settings. Objective: The goal of the present study was to evaluate the impact of P4C on basic psychological need satisfaction and mental health in elementary school students. Method: Students from grades one to three (N = 57) took part in this study and completed pre- and post-intervention questionnaires. A randomized cluster trial with a wait-list control group was implemented to compare the effects of P4C on students’ mental health. Results: Analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) revealed a significant effect of group condition on levels of autonomy and anxiety, after controlling for baseline levels. Participants in the experimental group showed higher scores in autonomy, when compared to participants in the control group, and participants in the experimental group showed lower anxiety scores, when compared to participants in the control group. Conclusion: Overall, results from this study show that P4C may be a promising intervention to foster greater autonomy in elementary school children, while also improving mental health.

Level up the life!! Leisure Involvement, Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Life Satisfaction among University Students

Leisure participation, life satisfaction, and psychological needs stand out as concepts that are closely related to each other especially in exercise participation. The purpose of this study is to determine and analyze leisure involvement, basic psychological need satisfaction, and life satisfaction level concerning some variables among university students who are regular exercise participants. Study participants comprised a total of 428 university students who were regular exercise participants. The participants, who were chosen using a convenience sampling method, completed the &ldquo;Modified Involvement Scale&rdquo; (MIS), &ldquo;Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale&rdquo; (BPNES) and Life Satisfaction Scale&rdquo; (LSS). T-test, MANOVA, and correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. Results indicated that the main effect of gender was significant on &ldquo;MIS&rdquo; &ldquo;BPNES&rdquo; and &ldquo;LSS&rdquo; in favor of male participants. There were significant effects of type of exercise in favor of individual exercise participants. Further, there were statistically significant correlations between all scales. Participation in leisure activities positively affects the person&rsquo;s perspectives on all areas of life and determines the individual&#39;s feelings like autonomy, competency, and feeling more related to their lives. The findings of this study also give useful insights into exercise psychology research and provide suggestions for future research.

The basic psychological needs satisfaction and frustration scale at work: A validation in the Polish language

The aim of this research project was to validate the work-related version of the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS) into the Polish language and culture. Although studies have demonstrated the benefits associated with basic psychological need satisfaction and the costs associated with need frustration at work, the concept of needs has been neglected both in Polish scientific research and in practical organizational studies. The adaptation of the BPNSFS-Work Domain may change this situation and stimulate research in the Polish community. The scale has been validated in a sample consisting of three occupational groups: healthcare workers, education staff and customer service workers (N = 1315, Mage = 43.8). The findings suggest that the Polish scale has robust psychometric features. The CFA analysis proves that the scale has a six-dimensional structure similar to the original scale. These dimensions show satisfactory to high Cronbach’s α and McDonalds ω reliability, and high criterion validity is shown by association of the six need dimensions with correlates of both positive (i.e., engagement, job crafting and self-efficacy) and negative aspects of work (i.e., burnout and stress). The structure of the scale is the same in all three occupational groups, although the regression weights and covariances are only partially invariant. The validated version of the BPNSFS-Work Domain can be used in future basic and applied studies in the paradigm of self-determination theory.

Intergenerational Transmission of Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction: The Critical Role of Parental Perceptions

While studies have documented the importance of basic psychological need satisfaction in parent-child relationships, a gap remains in understanding how parental and adolescent need satisfactions are associated. Using two longitudinal intergenerational datasets (200 parent-adolescent dyads and 408 mother-adolescent dyads; two waves), the study examined whether (1) parents’ need satisfaction predicts adolescents’ need satisfaction (parental needs effect), (2) adolescents’ need satisfaction predicts parents’ need satisfaction (child’s needs effect), and (3) parental perception of adolescent’s need satisfaction, a possibly influential point of view, predicts adolescents’ need satisfaction (parental perception effect). Findings from cross-lagged path models supported only parental perception effects: parents’ T1 perception of their adolescent’s need satisfaction predicted their adolescent’s T2 self-reported need satisfaction, especially for autonomy and competence needs. Furthermore, the effects were not mediated by autonomy-supportive or controlling parenting practices. Findings highlight the importance of parents’ perceptions, which may benefit the design of new interventions on basic psychological needs.