University Students' Basic Psychological Needs, Motivation, and Vitality Before and During COVID-19: A Self-Determination Theory Approach

Who stays? Who goes? Motivation and tendency to drop out in music schools

Based on self-determination theory, this study examined the extent to which the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and social relatedness in instrumental lessons explain the quality and quantity of motivation, which are responsible for persistence and dropout in music schools. This study also investigated whether parental involvement contributes to dropout. A total of 140 music students from Austria (37.16% male, 62.1% female, 0.8% diverse) were surveyed using a quantitative questionnaire. The central variables are the tendency to dropout (dependent variable) and, as predictors, the motivational regulation styles, the satisfaction of basic psychological needs in the classroom and parental involvement. The results of a structural equation model indicated that satisfaction of basic needs in class and parental involvement, mediated by motivation, predicted dropout tendencies. Autonomous motivation in lessons is negatively associated and controlled motivation is positively associated with the tendency to drop out of music schools. Satisfaction of basic psychological needs during lessons and parental involvement predicts autonomous motivation. However, basic psychological needs cannot predict controlled motivation but parental involvement can predict controlled motivation to a limited extent. Finally, this study emphasizes the practical importance of need satisfaction and parental involvement in motivation and continuing to play a musical instrument.

Psychological need fulfillment as a source of resilience: Its protective role in concerns and symptoms of anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic

The essential role of the psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness in well-being has been demonstrated convincingly. Yet whether their fulfillment also serves as a source of resilience in the face of adversity has received limited attention. A longitudinal sample of Belgian citizens (N = 1869; Mage = 56.23, 68% female) completed an online questionnaire on 13 occasions between April 2020 and April 2022 during the COVID-19 crisis. Multilevel analyses showed that need fulfillment, both at the between- and within-person level, related negatively to concerns, even after controlling for exposure to personal risks. Further, the association between concerns and changes in symptoms of depression and anxiety was dampened when people reported higher need fulfillment compared with others (i.e. between-person level) or when they reported periodically more need fulfillment than usual (i.e. within-person level). This moderation effect occurred on top of the systematic negative main effect of need fulfillment on symptoms of anxiety and depression. Psychological need fulfillment serves as a resilience factor (a) by reducing concerns in the face of adverse events (i.e. an appraisal effect) and (b) by mobilizing resources that help individuals to deal better with concerns (i.e. a coping effect). Theoretical and practical implications of the resilience effect of need fulfillment are discussed.

Differential influence of basic psychological needs on burnout and academic achievement in three southeast European countries

Several studies show the importance of basic psychological needs (BPN) for decreasing burnout and increasing grade point average (GPA), but, to our knowledge, no prior study has explored the potential contextual differences in Southeastern European countries. Moreover, even less is known about how this relationship may differ during stressful (exam) and less stressful (beginning of the semester) periods. Measures of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey and BPN Satisfaction and Frustration Scale were translated and adapted. The study included a cross-sectional sample of students from Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia during beginning of the semester and exam period. Across all countries and both contexts, students with high autonomy need satisfaction showed the strongest decrease in burnout, followed by those with high competence need satisfaction. Students with high academic achievement showed an increase due to competence need satisfaction. Competence and autonomy need satisfaction were higher beginning of a semester, while burnout was higher during the exam period. BPN play an important role in educational settings-satisfaction of the need for autonomy and competence protects students from burnout, and the need for competence predicts greater academic achievement regardless of culture or time of the semester.

Students' academic engagement during COVID-19 times: a mixed-methods study into relatedness and loneliness during the pandemic

The COVID-19 outbreak forced higher education students to study online-only. Previous research indicates that forced solitude or loneliness can cause a variety of problems for students, among which is reduced academic engagement. The Basic Psychological Needs Theory, a sub-theory of Self-Determination Theory, relates academic engagement to three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence and relatedness), whereas varying theories on loneliness highlight the complexities of engaging in a learning environment whilst feeling lonely. As university staff members have been struggling to keep students on task since the COVID-19 outbreak, the need arose for more knowledge about to what extent students have felt lonely, frustrated or satisfied in their need for relatedness and to what extent this affected their academic engagement. A convergent Mixed Methods research study was conducted among university students (N = 228) and an online questionnaire was administered to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. A series of multiple hierarchical regression analyses were performed, considering demographic characteristics, to analyze the quantitative data. Qualitative data was coded using a hybrid approach of deductive and inductive coding. Themes were generated that depicted in-depth issues of relatedness, loneliness, and academic engagement. Quantitative analysis demonstrated the importance for academic engagement of both (a) 'basic need satisfaction and frustration' of relatedness in life and in 'social study context', and (b) feeling (emotionally) lonely. The negative impact of frustration of relatedness seemed to be dominant but also overlapped with the effects of loneliness. The qualitative outcomes support and complement these quantitative results. The results showed that students' academic engagement suffered from the loss of a shared physical space and from uncertainty about university policies. For a minority of students, however, the relief from social obligations that came along with social distancing was a blessing in disguise.

Maintaining social support while social distancing: The longitudinal benefit of basic psychological needs for symptoms of anxiety during the COVID-19 outbreak

Although social distancing measures could be potentially perceived as thwarting conditions for basic psychological needs and thus causing psychological distress, off(on)line social support could compensate for this frustration by providing psychological proximity. Using self-determination theory, in this study, we aimed (a) to evaluate the change of perception in need satisfaction over time (before and during home-confinement and after a month of lockdown) and (b) to test the short-term longitudinal association between off(on)line social support, basic needs, and anxiety during social distancing measures in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. During the lockdown period decreed by Italy in March 2019 to confront the COVID-19 emergency, 1344 participants completed an online questionnaire and 131 participants completed a follow-up after 1 month. Results showed a decrease in need satisfaction during home confinement and a further reduction after a month of lockdown. Cross-sectional path analysis showed that both online and offline social support were associated with higher need satisfaction, which, in turn, was related to a lower level of anxiety. Longitudinal paths also confirmed the association between need satisfaction and anxiety. Collectively, these results suggest that maintaining psychological proximity despite social distancing measures may provide important avenues for reducing negative outcomes during forced home confinement.

Catering to Inclusion and Diversity With Universal Design for Learning in Asynchronous Online Education: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines were extensively studied to understand inclusive learning and teaching in higher education. However, to date, there have been few studies that approached UDL-based asynchronous university courses from the needs satisfaction perspective in self-determination theory (SDT). To address this gap, researchers designed and implemented two 15-week asynchronous online courses based on UDL. They then tested their effectiveness with college freshmen (N = 225) by adopting a sequential explanatory mixed method. The study aimed to examine (i) whether asynchronous instruction based on UDL catered to inclusion and diversity across gender and academic background and (ii) whether the instructional design supported learner engagement and needs satisfaction. The findings showed that both male and female students as well as Arts and Sciences students equally engaged in the courses and perceived the needs support from the course design. However, the study also found that although universal design supported autonomy and competence, it nonetheless failed to fully satisfy learners’ relatedness needs. The researchers concluded by discussing empirical and theoretical implications.