Paths to Autonomous Motivation and Well-being: Understanding the Contribution of Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction in Health Professions Students

Undergraduate students enrolled in Health Professions (HP) programs may experience challenges related to motivation and well-being. According to Self-Determination Theory, learning environments that support the three basic psychological needs (needs for autonomy, relatedness, competence) foster students’ autonomous motivation and well-being. Little is known about the associations between basic psychological needs satisfaction, autonomous motivation, and well-being in the HP domain and how they relate to one another in an integrative model. This study assesses the associations of the path “basic psychological needs satisfaction-autonomous motivation-well-being” within HP.

We invited first-year students in the field of HP (N = 850) to fill out an electronic survey, measuring the satisfaction of each basic psychological need, autonomous motivation, and well-being and performed structural equation modelling to examine the paths between these variables.

In total, 202 students completed the survey (response rate 23.8%). Our model had an acceptable model fit: CFI = 0.924, TLI = 0.916, RMSEA = 0.052, SRMR = 0.057, chi-square test of model fit = 688.678 (p < .001). Autonomy satisfaction was directly and positively associated with autonomous motivation. The satisfaction of relatedness and competence was directly and positively associated with well-being, and each of them explained approximately the same degree of strength in well-being. Autonomous motivation did not have a direct effect on well-being.

When students perceived their programs as autonomy supportive, they might develop higher autonomous motivation. Fostering students’ relatedness and competence might enhance students’ well-being. Teachers and curriculum designers can consider developing learning environments that support students’ autonomy, relatedness, and competence.