Adolescent Motivations to Engage in Pro‐Social Behaviors and Abstain From Health‐Risk Behaviors: A Self‐Determination Theory Approach

Abstract

The present study used self-determination theory to examine adolescents' motivations to engage in charitable donating and community volunteering and to abstain from sexual intercourse and marijuana use. The sample consisted of 419 late adolescents recruited from across the country through an online survey panel. Participants completed online measures of motivations to engage in donating and volunteering, motivations to abstain from sex and marijuana, and single-item indexes of the four behaviors. Variable-centered analyses (correlation and regression) found evidence for a general motivational factor, motivational specificity by behavioral domain (positive and negative behaviors), motivational specificity by particular behavior (charitable donating, volunteering, sexual risk-taking, and marijuana use), and a stronger relative role for autonomous motivations than controlled motivations. Person-centered analyses (cluster analysis) found four motivation profiles (low motivation, medium motivation, high motivation, and mixed motivation) for all four behaviors and suggested that level of autonomous motivation was a key factor differentiating the groups on levels of behavior. The findings suggest different levels of motivational specificity and highlight the importance of autonomous motivations in predicting behaviors as compared to controlled motivations. Further, similar patterns were found for motivations to engage and to abstain.

Empathy and defending behaviours in school bullying: The mediating role of motivation to defend victims

“…Only a few studies have examined the link between these types of motivation and prosocial behaviour (Marengo et al ., ). For example, Hardy, Dollahite, Johnson, and Christensen () revealed that autonomous motivation is associated with prosocial behaviour. Additionally, Jungert, Piroddi, and Thornberg () found that autonomous motivation had a positive and significant association with defending behaviours in school bullying.…”

Conceptualization and Measurement of Adolescent Prosocial Behavior: Looking Back and Moving Forward

“…Interestingly enough, the majority of current instruments do not explicitly capture the top five items: stands up for others , provides emotional support , helps others develop skills , compliments/encourages , and inclusive behaviors . In contrast, providing community service , one of the items mentioned the least by focus group participants, appears in several studies (e.g., Hardy, Dollahite, Johnson, & Christensen, ). These findings also point to the utility of consulting directly with the study population in future efforts to examine the incomplete coverage of relevant facets of the construct (see Revisiting Prosocial Behavior from a New Lens for additional discussion on incorporating the adolescent perspective).…”

Satisfaction of Basic Psychological Needs in Patients with Substance Use Disorder and Normal Persons: A Research Based on Self-Determination Theory

“…Parker et al showed that inability to create an emotional relationship with others results in substance use disorder (23). Hardy et al study, which used SD to research on teenagers' motivation to avoid marijuana and having risky sexual behaviors, indicated that the level of autonomy motivation was an integral factor in separation of groups in levels of behavior, and also autonomy motivation in comparison to controlled motivation had an important role in predicting the previously mentioned behaviors (marijuana consumption, and risky sexual behaviors) (24).…”