IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v11y2022i7p316-d867065.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Interaction between Basic Psychological Needs, Decision-Making and Life Goals among Emerging Adults in South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Eugene Lee Davids

    (Independent Institute of Education, Varsity College, Cape Town 7700, South Africa)

Abstract

The interaction between emerging adult psychological well-being and decision-making, in South Africa, has not been explicitly explored in Self-Determination Theory. Life goals have been thought to play a role in the interaction between basic psychological needs and decision-making to promote psychological well-being. The current study, therefore, aimed to examine whether the decision-making styles employed, and the life goals which were deemed important, contribute to the understanding of the satisfaction or frustration of the basic psychological needs of emerging adults in South Africa. Data were collected cross-sectionally, using a secure, online survey among 1411 participants. The interaction between decision-making, life goals and basic psychological needs variables were examined using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations and hierarchical regression analyses. The results in the study suggest that adaptive (vigilant) decision-making and intrinsic life goals were significant predictors for the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs. Some forms of maladaptive decision-making and extrinsic goals were predictors of the frustration of basic psychological needs. The variance explained by the various models were between 15.6–32.6%, with the results suggesting all models were significant. The results provide a novel contribution to emerging adult well-being in South Africa and Self-Determination Theory, with the implications for society, research and practice discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Eugene Lee Davids, 2022. "The Interaction between Basic Psychological Needs, Decision-Making and Life Goals among Emerging Adults in South Africa," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-15, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:11:y:2022:i:7:p:316-:d:867065
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/7/316/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/7/316/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Branko Vermote & Joachim Waterschoot & Sofie Morbée & Jolene Van der Kaap-Deeder & Charlotte Schrooyen & Bart Soenens & Richard Ryan & Maarten Vansteenkiste, 2022. "Do Psychological Needs Play a Role in Times of Uncertainty? Associations with Well-Being During the COVID-19 Crisis," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 257-283, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Schippers, M.C. & Ioannidis, J.P.A. & Joffe, A.R., 2022. "Aggressive Measures, Rising Inequalities and Mass Formation During the COVID-19 Crisis: An Overview and Proposed Way Forward," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2022-004-LIS, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    2. Daphne Bogaard & Bart Soenens & Katrijn Brenning & Nele Flamant & Maarten Vansteenkiste, 2024. "Can Students Learn to Optimize Their Need-Based Experiences and Mental Health During a Stressful Period? Testing a Need-Crafting Intervention in Higher Education," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 25(5), pages 1-31, June.
    3. Kailin Cheng & Jiangqun Liao, 2023. "Coping with Coronavirus Pandemic: Risk Perception Predicts Life Optimism," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 351-371, January.
    4. Marieke Fonteyn & Tom Loeys, 2022. "When You Can’t Play Sports: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Motivational and Emotional Experiences in Coach-Athlete Dyads," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-15, October.
    5. Simone P. Nguyen & Cameron L. Gordon, 2022. "Gratitude for Categories of Needs Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(6), pages 2881-2901, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:11:y:2022:i:7:p:316-:d:867065. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.