Abstract
BackgroundBasic psychological need theory has identified three basic needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Need satisfaction is necessary for development and well-being, while need frustration can lead to maladaptive functioning. The study investi-gated the significance of individual profiles of basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration in experiencing stress, coping, and satisfaction with life.Participants and procedureParticipants (N = 622, Mage = 22.22 ± 4.30) completed the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale, Per-ceived Stress Scale, Stress Appraisal Questionnaire, COPE Inventory, and Satisfaction with Life Scale. We performed explor-atory factor analysis to identify coping styles, latent profile analysis to distinguish groups with specific need profiles, and MANOVA to demonstrate differences between these groups.ResultsFive coping styles were identified: (1) problem-focused, (2) emotion-focused, (3) meaning-focused, (4) escape-avoidance, and (5) religious. The following groups of individuals characterized by specific profiles of basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration were distinguished: (1) mainly low satisfaction and high frustration of relatedness; (2) high satisfaction and low frustration of all basic needs; (3) low satisfaction and high frustration of all basic needs; (4) average satisfaction and frustration of all basic needs; (5) mainly low satisfaction and high frustration of competence. These groups significantly differ in perceived stress, coping styles, and life satisfaction.ConclusionsIndividuals with profile 3 were the most stressed and tend to use escape-avoidance coping style. Participants with profile 2 coped using a problem-focused style and had higher life satisfaction. These findings indicate that a person-centered ap-proach leads to a better understanding of experiencing stress and coping.
Subject
Psychiatry and Mental health,Clinical Psychology