The depth of stories: How Black young adults' disclosure of high arousal negative affect in narratives about the COVID-19 pandemic and the BLM protests improved adjustment over the year 2020.

The present study investigates whether the way Black young adults constructed their narratives regarding the stressful events of the COVID-19 pandemic and the black lives matter (BLM) protests related to adjustment over time. A two-wave mixed prospective and retrospective longitudinal study was conducted in July and December 2020 and included a total of 90 Black young adults. Narrative reports were collected at baseline to determine the psychological interpretations of the two events and were coded based on affect disclosure. Both time points examined adjustment to the COVID-19 pandemic and the BLM protests as well as the extent to which the basic psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence were affected. Our results showed that disclosure of high arousal negative affect in narratives at baseline was associated with better adjustment over time. Additionally, results of process analyses showed that satisfaction of the basic psychological need for autonomy (e.g., feelings of personal agency, choice, and volition) mediated the association between narratives and adjustment. These results suggest that engaging in disclosure of high arousal negative affect may be associated with heightening adjustment because it enhances individuals' autonomy, perhaps resulting in a beneficial integration of the events into their broader life narratives. These findings highlight the potential of well-constructed narratives to impact adjustment over time and have implications for clinical practice to support Racialized communities during unprecedented events.

Gender differences in perceived racism threat and activism during the Black Lives Matter social justice movement for Black young adults.

A longitudinal study involving 455 Black young adults living in Canada investigated whether gender and autonomous motivation influenced the relationship between perceived racism threat and Black Lives Matter (BLM) activism, and whether BLM activism influenced life satisfaction over time. A moderated mediation analysis using PROCESS Macro Model 58 tested the indirect effect of autonomous motivation on the relationship between perceived racism threat and BLM activism varying by gender. Multiple linear regression assessed how well BLM activism predicted life satisfaction. Black women perceived greater racism threat than Black men related to increases in BLM activism via the influence of autonomous motivation. BLM activism had a positive influence on life satisfaction over time, regardless of gender. This research suggests Black young women are playing pivotal roles in the BLM movement and helps us understand how motivation may be influencing involvement and well-being in social justice issues.

The role of goal-related autonomy: A self-determination theory analysis of perfectionism, poor goal progress, and depressive symptoms.

Adopting a self-determination theory perspective, this 3-wave longitudinal study explores the role of perfectionism in goal pursuit and the experience of depressive symptoms. The findings highlight the role of goal-related autonomy in mediating the opposite effects of self-critical and personal standards perfectionism on goal progress and depressive symptoms over the course of an academic year. The results suggest a way of understanding the pathway to depressive symptoms and poor goal progress in perfectionists. They point to a number of implications for clinical practice when working with self-critical perfectionists. Specifically, they indicate that interventions aimed at promoting autonomous motivation, may not only bolster goal progress but also act as a protective factor against depressive symptoms. Together, the results indicate that autonomous motivation is central to goal progress and suggest that low goal-related autonomy can be linked to negative outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Why are we together? A dyadic longitudinal investigation of relationship motivation, goal progress, and adjustment.

OBJECTIVE: This investigation used self-determination theory to study goal striving in the context of romantic relationships. The study explored how dyadic partners' relationship motivation impacted goal progress, personal well-being, and relationship satisfaction. In addition, the mediating role of relationship goal progress was explored. METHOD: In a prospective longitudinal study, 153 heterosexual couples rated their own relationship motivation and each reported a relationship goal and a self-oriented goal. Goal progress was assessed approximately 1 year later. In addition, well-being and relationship satisfaction were assessed at baseline and follow-up. RESULTS: Actor-partner interdependence models revealed that actor's autonomous relationship motivation was positively associated with relationship and self-oriented goal progress. Actor's autonomous relationship motivation, as well as both actor and partner relationship goal progress, were associated with increases in actor's subjective well-being (SWB) and relationship satisfaction. Relationship goal progress mediated the association between actor's autonomous relationship motivation and SWB, as well as relationship satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Together, these findings contribute to research on relationship motivation and goal striving in dyadic partners, by suggesting that motivational regulations impact goal regulation in romantic relationships and associated well-being outcomes.

Stuck in Limbo: Motivational Antecedents and Consequences of Experiencing Action Crises in Personal Goal Pursuit.

OBJECTIVE: Action crises describe the intrapsychic conflicts individuals experience when they feel torn between further goal pursuit and goal disengagement. The present investigation introduces autonomous and controlled motivation as independent predictors of action crisis severity, beyond known personality-level predictors (action orientation) and novel personality-level predictors (Neuroticism and Conscientiousness). METHOD: Using a multi-wave prospective longitudinal design and multilevel modeling (MLM), we followed students pursuing three personal goals across an academic semester (N = 425 undergraduates; 76% female; 57% Caucasian; Mage = 20.2, SD = 2.3). In two follow-up surveys, participants reported on the severity of their action crises, goal progress, and symptoms of depression. RESULTS: Results suggest that autonomous motivation shields individuals from experiencing action crises, whereas controlled motivation represents a risk factor for developing action crises beyond personality-level predictors. Furthermore, MLM revealed that autonomous motivation is a significant predictor of action crisis severity at both the within- and between-person levels of analysis. Action crises mediate both the relationship between autonomous motivation and goal progress, and the relationship between controlled motivation and symptoms of depression. CONCLUSIONS: The implications of these findings for the prevention of action crises and motivation research are discussed.

Unhappy or unsatisfied: distinguishing the role of negative affect and need frustration in depressive symptoms over the academic year and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mental health problems are becoming increasingly prevalent across college campuses. Past research has found that negative affect and frustration of basic psychological needs contribute to the development of depressive symptoms, but there is limited research which compares whether these are antecedents or concomitants of depressive symptoms. The present set of studies aimed to distinguish the differential associations of affect and need frustration on depressive symptoms. Students (Nstudy1 = 379; Nstudy2 = 235) completed measures on negative affect, need frustration (e.g., relatedness, competence, and autonomy), and depressive symptoms over an academic year and during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In both samples, fully cross-lagged path models were used to examine the relation between need frustration, negative affect, and depressive symptoms over time. Across both studies, basic psychological need frustration was the only consistent predictor of both negative affect and depressive symptoms over time, suggesting that need frustration is an antecedent of depressive symptoms over time, and especially during vulnerable time periods. Additionally, in Study 2, reports from close others confirm that need frustration is the largest indicator of depressive presentation in students. These results highlight the relative importance of basic psychological need frustration in predicting depressive symptoms in university students.