Research article summary (published 30 Jul 2009):

Balance across contexts: importance of balanced need satisfaction across various life domains.

Full Abstract

Self-determination theory posits that satisfaction of three basic psychological needs-autonomy, competence, and relatedness-are required for psychological well-being, and a recent study showed that the balance in the satisfaction of these three needs independently affects well-being. The present investigation builds on these findings by examining the balance of adolescents' need satisfaction across distinct life contexts. The results of three studies show that adolescents who experience a balance of need satisfaction across important life contexts, including at school, at home, with friends, and in part-time jobs, reported higher well-being and better school adjustment. This finding emerged consistently across four countries and across multiple measures of school adjustment, including teacher reports. Together, these results support previous research that highlights the importance of consistency for psychological functioning.

Author information

Author/s: Milyavskaya, Marina (M); Gingras, Isabelle (I); Mageau, Geneviève A (GA); Koestner, Richard (R); Gagnon, Hugo (H); Fang, Jianqun (J); Boiché, Julie (J);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. marina.milyavskaya(-atsign-)mail.mcgill.ca

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Personality and social psychology bulletin (Pers Soc Psychol Bull), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Aug; vol 35 (issue 8) : pp 1031-45

Dates: Created 2009/07/13; Completed 2009/09/25;

PMID: 19592677, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 9/25/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Achievement Adolescent Adolescent Psychology California Child China Cross-Cultural Comparison Depression - psychology Female France Friends - psychology Humans Individuality

Intention Internal-External Control Job Satisfaction Male Personal Autonomy Personality Assessment Quality of Life - psychology Quebec Self Efficacy Social Adjustment Social Environment Social Identification Student Dropouts - psychology

Related articles

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

• The role of friendship in adolescents' sense of school belonging. 30 Dec 2004
• Stress and depression among older residents in religious monasteries: do friends and God matter? 30 Dec 2007
• The mediational role of adolescents' friends in relations between activity breadth and adjustment. 29 Jun 2008
• The role of cross-racial/ethnic friendships in social adjustment. 29 Jun 2008
• The roles of perceived teacher support, motivational climate, and psychological need satisfaction in students' physical education motivation. 30 Mar 2008
• Human cloning and our sense of self. 10 Apr 2002
• Relational aggression, overt aggression, and friendship. 29 Sep 1996
• Discerning direct and mediated effects of ecological structures and processes on adolescents' educational outcomes. 29 Apr 2008
• Is extracurricular participation associated with beneficial outcomes? Concurrent and longitudinal relations. 29 Jun 2006
• The aged deaf: integration of a disabled group into an agency serving elderly people. 30 Mar 1980

See 100+ related articles.

Related Article Map

Legend: - FREE Full text Article. - Abstract only. - Title only. More help.

See a large map of 100+ related articles.