Thesis advisor: David Miele / This dissertation adopts a fundamental needs perspective to examine the associations between first-year students’ reasons for attending college and their well-being. It extends Basic Psychological Needs Theory (BPNT; Ryan & Deci, 2017), by proposing that (a) meaning, safety, and status (in addition to autonomy, competence, and relatedness) are fundamental needs that students aim to satisfy in college, and (b) the salience of particular needs influences students’ goal-directed behavior and well-being. The first phase of the dissertation involved the development of three novel measures which were used in the second phase to explore different profiles of salient needs and their associations with college students’ experiences of need satisfaction, need conflict, and four outcome variables (GPA, intentions to persist toward graduation, psychological distress, and overall well-being).A latent profile analysis of the first wave of data (N= 512) identified three profiles based on students’ reasons for attending college: Weaker Reasons, Balanced Reasons, and Stronger Reasons. Subsequent analyses examined whether profile membership at Wave 1 predicted need satisfaction, need conflict, and the student outcomes at Wave 2 (n = 219). Results indicated that the Stronger Reasons profile was associated with higher levels of need satisfaction compared to the other two profiles, whereas the Balanced Reasons profile was associated with lower GPA and intentions to persist. Next, structural equation models were estimated to examine the relations between need satisfaction, need conflict, and the four outcomes. Results indicated that need satisfaction was positively associated with intentions to persist and well-being, but negatively related to distress, whereas need conflict positively predicted distress. Contrary to expectations, need conflict and need satisfaction were not significantly associated. Although additional research is needed to examine motivation profiles, findings from this dissertation study suggest that students attend college with different patterns of need-based motivations, and these profiles are related to important student outcomes. The dissertation also adds to the literature examining the association between need satisfaction and well-being, and suggests that need conflict is a construct worthy of additional inquiry. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

In recent years, the global interest in esports has grown exponentially, opening up for new technologies and products to be developed. One example is esports platforms which serve players with a common place to carry out their esports-related activities. This study utilizes current research about motivation and user engagement to develop three conceptual design proposals aiming to showcase how appropriate gamification components could be incorporated into an esports platform in order to deepen user engagement. These conceptual designs are evaluated by conducting a focus group, in which the participants had expert knowledge in the fields of esports, user experience, technology, and game design. Based on the results, conceptual design guidelines are established, and two final conceptual designs are proposed. With these two final designs, this study aims to contribute to and inspire future design work within the field of gamification and esports. / Under senare år har det globala intresset för esport ökat exponentiellt, vilket har öppnat upp för ny teknik och produkter att utvecklas. Ett exempel är esportplattformar som tillgängliggör spelare med en gemensam plats att utföra sina esportrelaterade aktiviteter. Denna studie använder aktuell forskning om motivation och användarengagemang för att utveckla tre konceptuella designförslag som visar hur lämpliga gamificationkomponenter kan inkorporeras i en esportplattform för att fördjupa användarengagemang. Dessa konceptuella designförslag utvärderas i en fokusgrupp där deltagarna har expertkunskaper inom esport, användarupplevelse, teknik och speldesign. Baserat på resultaten utformas konceptuella riktlinjer och två slutliga konceptuella designförslag presenteras. Med dessa två slutliga designförsag syftar denna studie till att bidra till och inspirera framtida designarbeten inom gamification och esport.

School music ensembles have the potential to provide a space where students can develop a strong sense of belonging and relatedness. A sense of belonging and relatedness has been shown to be an important factor in helping students avoid social isolation and its attendant issues of poor academic performance, lack of motivation, and behavioral problems. Particularly within a music education context, however, little is known about how fulfilling the need for belonging and relatedness might have a positive impact in the music classroom. In order to address this research gap, I used self-determination theory to test the hypothetical links among students’ perception of teacher support for relatedness, perceived relatedness satisfaction, general prosocial behavior, and music practice quantity and quality. I surveyed a sample of 749 high school band students about their perceptions of the band classroom and their band-related behaviors. Path analysis was then used to test the hypothetical model. As hypothesized, the findings of this study indicate a strong relationship between relatedness support and relatedness satisfaction. Results also show that relatedness support—through relatedness satisfaction—predicted certain general prosocial behaviors (compliant and public) and music practice quality. Also, relatedness need fulfillment was negatively associated with music practice quantity. These results indicate that teacher support for relatedness in band may play an important role in promoting other positive outcomes such as increased prosocial behavior and higher-quality music practice. This study also shows continued evidence for the viability of using self-determination theory to understand the motivational processes at work in the music classroom.

A major dilemma that is being addressed in the current project is the discrepancies between healthcare system's expectations for a rapid and successful rehabilitation process and patients after having a stroke ability to meet these expectations while striving to adapt to the calamitous event in their life. Emphasizing a more biomedical approach and under implementation of psychosocial approaches, poor acknowledging of patients' basic psychological needs lead to poor motivation, therapeutic disengagement and may lead to a rehabilitation failure. To cope with this gap in the process of stroke rehabilitation, an educational program aiming for occupational therapists working with patients after having a stroke in their acute and post-acute rehabilitation phases was constructed. The program guides practitioners for effective communication with their patients, building a needs-supportive environment and addressing their patients' basic psychological needs in light of the selfdetermination theory, theories of adaptation from occupational therapy perspectives and considering occupational justice and the ICF model. A clinical reasoning, step-by-step problem solving is introduced using adaptation of known models and innovated models for interventions that were created for this purpose. Program delivery through a series of 4-webinar modules is illustrated with their learning objectives, assignments and discussions. The program evaluation and implementation are expected to be the initiator of a change in the health and rehabilitation climate and in Israel.

Over the last 40 years, the field of sport psychology has generated a growing body of literature on the coach-athlete relationship, driven by the recognition that the quality of this dyad can play an important role in an athlete's experiences in sport. Despite strong evidence suggesting that Self-Determination Theory (SDT) accurately reflects processes within this relationship, which promote or undermine intrinsic motivation, there is room to deepen contemporary understandings of coach-athlete dyads by assessing the role of athlete individual differences within this theory. Sixty-seven male athletes (ages 12-18) and 3 male coaches participated in the current study, which set out to cultivate a more nuanced understanding of coach-athlete relationships in a high-level youth athletic academy. Questionnaires measuring preferences for, and perceptions of, coaching behavior, psychological coping skills, psychological needs satisfaction, motivation, and burnout were administered at the beginning and end of the fall season. Results gleaned from correlations, multiple regressions and mediational analyses variably supported the study's main hypotheses. Processes consistent with SDT were evident, as a dimension of perceived coaching behavior predicted needs satisfaction, which in turn, predicted levels of motivation and burnout. Finally, and most importantly, results showed that athletes' psychological coping skills predicted their perceptions of coaching behavior, and outcomes related to needs satisfaction, motivation, and burnout. The current paper also discusses implications of these findings for research and applied practice in sport psychology, and provides recommendations for future avenues of study. / Kinesiology

No / Objectives: The aim of this study is to explore the extent to which staff–resident interactions address or undermine residents’ psychological needs and how such interactions are associated with residents’ well-being. Method: Data on staff–resident interactions and residents’ well-being were collected for 51 residents from nine long-term care settings using dementia care mapping (DCM). DCM yields a count and detailed description of staff–resident interactions that either address (personal enhancers – PEs) or undermine (personal detractions – PDs) residents’ psychological needs, and every 5-minute scores for each resident's mood and engagement (ME-value). The relationship between PEs and PDs and well-being was analysed by studying residents’ ME-values before and three time frames after a PE or PD occurred. Results: A total of 76 PEs and 33 PDs were observed. The most common PEs were those addressing psychological needs for comfort and occupation. However residents’ well-being increased most often after PEs that addressed residents’ need for identity, attachment and inclusion. The most common PDs were those which undermined the need for comfort, inclusion and occupation. Residents’ well-being decreased most often after PDs that undermined the need for comfort. Conclusion: Increasing interactions which address residents’ need for attachment, identity and inclusion and eliminating interactions which undermine residents’ need for comfort may be particularly important in achieving residents’ well-being. In the long run, residents’ well-being could be achieved by staff availing of the opportunities to empower and facilitate residents, thus meeting their needs for occupation. These findings provide directions for training in person-centred care.

The study’s purpose was to explore a team’s perception of transition within the clubexperienced by both players and coaches, investigate influences of the clubs transition onbasic needs satisfaction as perceived by players as well as coaches and lastly conduct a shortterm intervention aimed at facilitating players’ adaptation to the clubs transition. The study isbased on three theories: the Athletic Career Transitional Model, Self Determination theoryand the holistic ecological approach. The study’s participants all represented a club in thesouth of Sweden and consisted of a total of 23 players at the age of 15-17 (M= 15,96, SD=0,64), the club manager, coaches and parents. The study was a mixed method interventionstudy (questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and an intervention consisting of educationalsessions and an implementation phase).The study revealed that the club is still facilitating with remnants of its transition despiteover-looking it. The study found the targeted club to predominantly demand elite investmentfrom players, experience barriers regarding individual differences and communication withinthe club and resources in the form of popular, well-educated coaches. The clubs transition wasfound to influence all basic needs in some way, the change in management brought positivevalues with autonomy supportive measures and coaches. Increased elite investment anddeficient communication within the club also influenced basic needs. Results from theintervention are presented as well as implications with a basis in the theories used. / Studiens syfte var att undersöka ett lags uppfattning om hur klubbens övergång upplevs avbåde spelare och tränare, undersöka påverkan av klubbövergången på grundläggandepsykologiska behov som upplevs av spelare samt tränare och slutligen göra en kortsiktigintervention i syfte att underlätta spelares anpassning till klubbövergången. Studien baseras påtre teorier: the Athletic Career Transitional Model, Självbestämmande-teorin och detholistiska ekologiska synsättet. Studiens deltagare representerade en klubb i södra Sverige ochbestod av totalt 23 spelare åldern 15-17 (M = 15,96, SD = 0,64), klubbens manager, tränareoch föräldrar. Studien var en mixed method interventionsstudie (enkät, semi-struktureradeintervjuer och en intervention bestående av utbildningstillfällen samt en implementeringsfas).Resultatet visade att klubben fortfarande handskas med resterna av sin övergång trots att deförbiser det. Studien fann att klubben främst kräver elitsatsning från spelare, erfar hinder när detgäller individuella skillnader samt kommunikation inom klubben och resurser i form av omtyckta,välutbildade tränare. Dessutom fanns klubbövergången påverka alla grundläggande behov på någotsätt, förändringen i ledningen förde positiva värderingar med sig med autonomistödjande åtgärderoch tränare. Ökad elitsatsning påverkar och bristfällig kommunikation inom klubben påverkadeockså grundläggande behov. Resultat från interventionen samt implikationer med en grund i deteorier som används presenteras slutligen.

Background: Individuals who experience negative life events may be at increased risk for suicidal behavior. Intrapersonal characteristics, such as basic psychological needs, however, may buffer this association. Aims: To assess the potential moderating role of overall basic psychological needs, and the separate components of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, on the association between negative life events and suicidal behavior. MethodOur sample of 439 college students (311 females, 71%) completed the following self-report surveys: Life Events Scale, Basic Psychological Needs Scale, Beck Depression Inventory ; II, and the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised. Results: In support of our hypotheses, negative life events were associated with greater levels of suicidal ideation and attempts, and satisfaction of basic psychological needs, including autonomy, relatedness, and competence, significantly moderated this relationship, over and above the effects of the covariates of age, sex, and depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Suicidal behavior associated with the experience of negative life events is not inevitable. Therapeutically bolstering competence, autonomy, and relatedness may be an important suicide prevention strategy for individuals experiencing life stressors.

Associations between the satisfaction of basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness with current suicidal ideation and risk for suicidal behavior were examined. Two logistic regressions were conducted with a cross-sectional database of 440 university students to examine the association of need satisfaction with suicidal ideation and risk for suicidal behavior, while controlling for demographics and depressive symptoms. Suicidal ideation was reported by 15% of participants and 18% were found to be at risk for suicidal behavior. A one standard deviation increase in need satisfaction reduced the odds of suicidal ideation by 53%, OR (95% CI) = 0.47 (0.33–0.67), and the odds of being at risk for suicidal behavior by 50%, OR (95% CI) = 0.50 (0.37–0.69). Young adults whose basic psychological needs are met may be less likely to consider suicide and engage in suicidal behavior. Prospective research is needed to confirm these associations.

Health behavior change may prevent many fatal diseases, and may be influenced by social and motivational constructs. We assessed the interaction effect of future time perspective and basic psychological need fulfillment on positive and negative health behaviors. Future time perspective was associated with more positive, and less negative, health behaviors. Need fulfillment was associated with only positive health behaviors. In moderation analyses, individuals reporting both high need fulfillment and future perspective reported greater positive health behaviors, and were especially unlikely to smoke. Enhancing future-mindedness and supporting need satisfaction in interventions targeting modifiable health behaviors is encouraged.