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Antecedents and Outcomes of Self-Determination in 3 Life Domains: The Role of Parents' and Teachers' Autonomy Support

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Abstract

Due to conceptualizations of autonomy as detachment and independence, research on the parenting–autonomy relationship in adolescence has yielded inconsistent results. In the present study, self-determination is proposed as an alternative way of tapping into the construct of autonomy. An integrated model of the relationships between perceived parenting and teaching styles, self-determination in 3 life-domains (school, social competence, and job-seeking behaviors), and specific adolescent outcomes, was investigated and confirmed. In 2 samples of mid-adolescents (N = 328 and N = 285), autonomy-supportive parenting was significantly related to self-determination in all life-domains. Autonomy-supportive teaching added significantly to the prediction of self-determination in the domains of school and job-seeking behaviors. Self-determination, in turn, was positively and specifically associated with measures of adjustment in the specific life-domains under investigation. Finally, in both studies, indications were found that self-determination acts as an intervening variable in the relation between the perceived interpersonal environment and adolescent adjustment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

    Bart Soenens (Doctoral student) & Maarten Vansteenkiste (Postdoctoral researcher)

  2. Center for Developmental Psychology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

    Bart Soenens (Doctoral student)

  3. Center for Motivation Psychology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

    Maarten Vansteenkiste (Postdoctoral researcher)

  4. Department of Psychology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Bart Soenens (Doctoral student)

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  1. Bart Soenens
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  2. Maarten Vansteenkiste
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Correspondence to Bart Soenens.

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Doctoral student at the Center for Developmental Psychology at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. His major research interests are parenting, psychological control, and identity development.

Postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Motivation Psychology at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. His major research interests are self-determination theory, motivation, and parenting.

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Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M. Antecedents and Outcomes of Self-Determination in 3 Life Domains: The Role of Parents' and Teachers' Autonomy Support. J Youth Adolescence 34, 589–604 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-005-8948-y

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