Parental Autonomy Support and Psychological Well-Being in University Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Autonomy Satisfaction

Abstract

Background University students, as emerging adults, have autonomy as one of their central developmental tasks. Parents need to provide an autonomy-supportive environment to encourage students to act based on their volition, benefiting their psychological well-being. This study aims to explore the effect of parental autonomy support on psychological well-being by the mediation of autonomy satisfaction. Methods 227 university students in Indonesia (21.6% male, 78.4% female) aged 18-24 years old (M = 20.73; SD = 0.93) participated in the study and completed an online survey. We used three validated Indonesian version questionnaires: Parental Autonomy Support, Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction and Frustration, and Psychological Well-Being. Results The result shows that autonomy satisfaction fully mediated the relationship between parental autonomy support and psychological well-being. Conclusion This finding supported the self-determination theory framework and implied the importance of parental autonomy support in enhancing university students' psychological well-being, especially in pandemic situations.