Work

Parental Autonomy Support, Parental Psychological Control and Chinese University Students’ Behavior Regulation: The Mediating Role of Basic Psychological Needs

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: The present research examined relationships between parental autonomy support, parental psychological control, and Chinese emerging adults' autonomous regulation in their university studies as well as dysregulation in social media engagement. A total of 287 (102 female and 185 male) Chinese university students reported on their perceived parenting styles, psychological needs, and behavior regulation. Results showed that basic psychological need satisfaction was positively associated with parental autonomy support and autonomous regulation of learning; need frustration was positively correlated with parental psychological control and dysregulation in social media engagement. More importantly, psychological need frustration was a mediator of the relation between parental psychological control and dysregulation in social media engagement. Our findings suggest that students living in an autonomy-supportive familial environment tend to have satisfied psychological needs as well as autonomous learning behavior. Impairment of psychological needs could be one of the mechanisms through which psychologically controlling parenting was linked to dysregulation of social media use in Chinese culture.

Source: Frontiers in Psychology

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.735570

Authors: Songqin Wei, Timothy Teo, Anabela Malpique, Adi Lausen

Institutions: University of Essex, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Edith Cowan University

Language: English

Topic: Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,950