Basic psychological needs and negative affective conditions in Chinese adolescents: Does coping still matter?

Abstract

The present study examined the roles of basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence & relatedness) and coping styles in negative affective conditions (depression, anxiety, & stress) for Chinese adolescents. The sample consisted of 395 (212 female & 183 male) middle school and high school students who were recruited online. The aforementioned variables were analyzed using several hierarchical regression analyses, which revealed that basic psychological needs were significant predictors of negative affective conditions. The addition of coping styles was found to account for a significant amount of unique variance even after accounting for basic psychological needs. Findings from the present study suggest that fulfilling the basic need for competence may be most beneficial for the mental health of Chinese adolescents. However, beyond basic psychological need satisfaction, our findings suggest that how one copes with stressors still matters. Specifically, identifying and targeting negative coping strategies may be important for Chinese adolescent mental health.