The balance of intrinsic need satisfaction across contexts as a predictor of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents

Abstract

In their Self-Determination Theory (SDT), Deci and Ryan (1985) posit autonomy, competence, and relatedness as three intrinsic needs that contribute to well-being throughout the lifespan. Addressing the argument that the universality with which SDT makes its predictions may ignore critical developmental differences, Ryan and Deci (2000) contend that although these three needs are developmentally persistent, their relative salience may in fact vary across the lifespan. This became apparent with the finding that fulfillment of some needs was inconsequential in the prediction of depressive symptoms in a sample of children and that the experience of a balance of overall need satisfaction across important life contexts accounted for well-being over and above individual need satisfaction in a sample of adolescents (Milyavskaya et al., 2009;Veronneau, Koestner, & Abela, 2005). Despite these advances, a concrete examination of the relative salience of intrinsic needs has yet to be examined in a developmentally comparative manner. Thus, the objective of this thesis was to test the applicability of SDT across developmental periods by differentiating children and adolescents on the importance of individual needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, relatedness) and the role of balance across contexts (i.e., home, school, peers) in predicting depressive symptoms.

The Bright and the Dark Side of Peer Relationships: Differential Effects of Relatedness Satisfaction and Frustration at School on Affective Well-Being in Children’s Daily Lives

“…According to the authors, this difference across age groups might be explained by the increasing importance of peers during adolescence. In some of the analyses on need fulfillment, researchers aggregated across the three needs (e.g., Véronneau et al, 2005), or combined items referring to both peers and teachers to a general relatedness scale (e.g., Emery, Toste, & Heath, 2015;Véronneau et al, 2005). However, in their meta-analysis, van den Broeck et al (2016) concluded that it is inappropriate to compute an average need fulfillment score as each need explained unique variance in the dependent variables and was related differently to diverse outcomes.…”

Why teachers stay in the classroom : a case study of a low-attrition Alaskan school district

“…Basic Psychological Needs Theory (BPNT) is an SDT sub-theory which argues that optimal psychological wellbeing requires one to experience a sense of Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness to maintain one's sense of Self-Determination and in turn one's natural level of intrinsic motivation (Baard et al, 2004;Callens, 2008;Deci et al, 2001;Deci & Ryan, 2000a;DeHaan et al, 2016;Droogenbroeck et al, 2014;Emery et al, 2015;Grouzet et al, 2004;Guay et al, 2003;Martela & Ryan, 2016;Vansteenkiste et al, 2006). There is confirmation of BPNT in the research.…”

“…This curiosity is what Deci and Ryan mean by Intrinsic Motivation. This intrinsic motivation to learn, do, and explore is fragile though. According to SDT, a person must feel that they have sufficient sense of Self-Determination to maintain their natural level of intrinsic motivation for a task (Baard, Deci, & Ryan, 2004;Callens, 2008;Deci et al, 2001; Deci & Ryan, 2000a;DeHaan, Hirai, & Ryan, 2016;Droogenbroeck et al, 2014;Emery, Toste, & Heath, 2015;Grouzet, Vallerand, Thill, & Provencher, 2004;Guay et al, 2003;Vansteenkiste, Lens, & Deci, 2006). This is often described in the literature as somewhat antithetical to the Behaviorist viewpoint in which all actions must be in response to external stimuli (Callens, 2008;Deci & Ryan, 2000b;Deci et al, 1996;Guay et al, 2003;Vansteenkiste et al, 2006).…”

“…Each question contained a prompt and asked the participant to state a level of agreement or disagreement via a 5-point Likert scale ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree. This tool has been widely used and validated in various contexts (Baard et al, 2004;Deci et al, 2001Deci et al, , 2017Emery et al, 2015;Gunnell, Crocker, Wilson, Mack, & Zumbo, 2013;Milyavskaya & Koestner, 2011).…”

“…So, while BPNT is well supported in the literature, there has been some disagreement regarding the relative importance of the three basic needs. Some research undertaken with an BPNT stance has indicated that while Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness all contribute to general wellbeing and workplace morale (Baard et al, 2004;Callens, 2008;Deci et al, 2001;Guay et al, 2003;Milyavskaya & Koestner, 2011;Rigby et al, 1992;Sheldon & Schuler, 2011;Vansteenkiste et al, 2006) the Autonomy element might be the most influential Emery et al, 2015;Sheldon & Schuler, 2011). Other research disagrees with this contention.…”