Impact Of Autonomy Support Research Articles

The prospective associations between autonomy support, basic psychological needs, motivation and well-being among people with a mild to borderline intellectual disability: a two-wave study.

This study, grounded in self-determination theory, examined how satisfaction of the needs for autonomy, relatedness and competence in people with mild to borderline intellectual disability (MBID) changed over a 4.5-year period. Additionally, it explored the association between life events across various domains (i.e. health, support and living situation, crime, relationships and freedom and finance) and these changes and explored the prospective associations between these needs, perceptions of support from direct support staff and the well-being and ill-being of people with MBID. Based on a sample of 117 adults with MBID, multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine correlations between constructs at both time points and the impact of autonomy support on need satisfaction and motivation, taking into account life events. The analyses showed that, at both time points, most constructs were statistically significantly correlated and remained so despite a time lag of 4.5 years. Autonomy support emerged as a significant positive predictor, of medium size, for satisfying autonomy and relatedness needs. Its association with competence need satisfaction was not statistically significant after Bonferroni correction. For type of motivation, autonomy support statistically predicted increased autonomous motivation, irrespective of life events. Findings underline the potential of autonomy supportive direct support in the lives of individuals with MBID. Some unexpected null findings underscore the need for further study into the interplay between autonomy support, life events and the well-being of people with MBID.

Impact of Autonomy Support on the Association between Personal Control, Healthy Behaviors, and Psychological Well-Being among Patients with Hypertension and Cardiovascular Comorbidities.

A sense of control and autonomy are key components in guiding health-related behaviors and quality of life in people with chronic diseases. This study investigated whether autonomy support from health professionals moderates the impact of personal control on psychological well-being through healthy behaviors in patients with hypertension and cardiovascular comorbidities. Data from 149 hypertensive patients with comorbid cardiovascular risk factors were collected via self-administered surveys. A moderated mediation effect of a hypothesized model was analyzed using the PROCESS macro bootstrapping method. Autonomy support from health professionals moderated the relationship between personal control and healthy behaviors (B = 0.16, t = 2.48, p < 0.05), showing that the effect of personal control on healthy behaviors differed by the level of autonomy support. Additionally, autonomy support moderated the mediation effect of healthy behaviors in the relationship between personal control and psychological well-being (Index = 0.15; 95% CI = 0.010, 0.335). The mediation effect existed only in patients with higher autonomy support. The findings demonstrate that autonomy support from health professionals plays a crucial role in reinforcing the positive impact of personal control on healthy behaviors and psychological well-being. Enhancing the supportive attitudes of health professionals that facilitate patients’ autonomous self-regulation is necessary for better health outcomes in people with combined cardiovascular diseases.

Autonomy‐Supportive Parenting in Adolescence: Cultural Variability in the Contemporary United States

This review focuses on how the expression of parental autonomy support (particularly the promotion of independence and volitional functioning) and its impact on adolescent adjustment varies across cultural groups in the United States. We review history involving the conceptualization of parental autonomy support and its impact on adolescent development, discuss cross‐cultural research focused on the expression and impact of autonomy support, review theoretical perspectives suggesting the importance of studying variability in parental autonomy support across cultural groups, and summarize research conducted in the United States across four racial/ethnic groups: European American, African American, Latinx, and Asian American. Much of this research does not adequately reflect current understanding regarding the forms of autonomy support, nor is it grounded in theoretical perspectives recognizing the role of culture in shaping parental behaviors. We conclude by discussing directions for further research to overcome existing shortcomings in this literature.