Motivation to regulate eating behaviors, intuitive eating, and well-being: A dyadic study with mothers and adult daughters.

Intuitive eating, defined as relying on physiological cues to determine when, what, and how much to eat while maintaining a positive relationship with food (Tribole & Resch, 1995), has gained a lot of research attention in the last two decades. The present study sought to determine how motivation for regulating eating behaviors is related to intuitive eating and well-being outcomes in dyads of mothers and their adult daughters (n = 214). Structural equation modelling revealed that controlling for dieting and desire to lose weight, both mothers' and daughters' autonomous motivation was positively associated with their own intuitive eating while their controlled motivation was negatively associated with intuitive eating. In turn, intuitive eating was positively associated with well-being in both mothers and daughters. Interestingly, mothers' intuitive eating was also positively related to their daughters' well-being. The analysis of indirect effects suggests that mothers' motivation to regulate eating behaviors has an indirect (mediating) relationship with daughters' well-being through mothers' intuitive eating. The implications for women's health and well-being are discussed.

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 Impact of Language on the Mental Health of Black Quebecers.

Quebec's English-speaking Black community finds itself at the intersection of racial and linguistic discrimination, which presents challenges to mental wellness. The present study aims to add necessary detail to the conversations surrounding racism and mental health in Canada while including language as a determinant of health and intersecting element affecting the wellbeing of English-speaking Black Quebecers. We recruited 531 Black adults who are currently living in Quebec to complete a survey on various community-relevant items, including their mental and physical health, their experiences of discrimination, and barriers to accessing mental healthcare. Our analyses revealed that English-speaking participants experience more discrimination across all types and report more barriers to mental healthcare and lower mental health than their French-speaking counterparts. Furthermore, we found that language also had a mediated effect on mental health through discrimination and barriers to mental healthcare. Our study adds to the sparse race-based and intersectional literature about Black people in Canada and substantiates a mechanism by which language affects mental health by exposing Black Quebecers to more discrimination and thus higher barriers to care.

Rewriting the script: How COVID-19 affected the relation between intrinsic aspirations and depressive symptoms.

Self-determination theory proposes that intrinsic aspirations protect against negative mental health outcomes by satisfying people's basic psychological needs of autonomy, relatedness, and competence. The present study investigated this relationship using two four-wave prospective longitudinal studies which followed undergraduate students across the Canadian academic calendar (September to May). The first was conducted across 2018-19 and the second across 2019-20. By comparing these two samples, we examined whether baseline levels of intrinsic aspirations moderated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of depressive symptoms. Three main findings emerged, the first being that students reported higher levels of depressive symptoms in Spring 2020 than in Spring 2019. Second, students with more intrinsic aspirations in the pre-pandemic sample (2018-19) experienced fewer depressive symptoms from December to May while students with more intrinsic aspirations in the pandemic sample (2019-20) experienced more depressive symptoms during this period. Lastly, the latter relationship was mediated by need frustration, whereby students with higher levels of intrinsic aspirations experienced greater need frustration during the pandemic year. Together, these findings suggest that although intrinsic aspirations typically protect against negative psychological outcomes, the unique need frustrating context of the pandemic made them a risk factor for depression.

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.

Agreeableness and Conscientiousness promote successful adaptation to the Covid-19 pandemic through effective internalization of public health guidelines.

Social distancing (SD) was an effective way of reducing virus transmission during the deadly and highly infectious COVID-19 pandemic. Using a prospective longitudinal design, the present study explored how the Big 5 traits relate to variations in SD in a sample of university students (n = 285), and replicated these findings using informant reports. Self-determination theory's concepts of autonomous motivation and intrinsic community values were explored as potential mechanisms linking traits to SD. Individuals who were higher on trait agreeableness and conscientiousness engaged in more SD because they more effectively internalized the importance and value of the guidelines as a function of their concerns about the welfare of their communities. Informant reports confirmed trait agreeableness and conscientiousness to be associated with more SD. These results enhance our understanding of individual differences associated with better internalization and adherence to public health guidelines and can inform future interventions in similar crises.

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.

From the Good Life to Good Living: A Longitudinal Study Investigating the Relationship Between Good-Life Coherence and Motivation, Goal Progress and Subjective Well-Being.

Although considerable research has examined the traits and features involved in living a good life (Baumeister et al. in J Posit Psychol 8(6):505-516, 2013; Ryan et al. in Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness, Guilford Press, 2006; Wong in Can Psychol/Psychol Can 52(2):69-81, 2011), little research has examined personal philosophies of the good life and the motivational outcomes associated with these views. Through a prospective longitudinal study across one academic year, we examined whether perceiving oneself to be living coherently with personal conceptions of the good life was associated with greater autonomous goal motivation and, subsequently, goal progress and greater subjective well-being (SWB) over time. We hypothesize that perceiving oneself as living coherently in terms of one's own philosophy of flourishing relates to greater volition, goal progress and happiness. Our results suggest that when individuals assess themselves as following their own philosophy of the good life, they tend to experience greater autonomous motivation, goal progress and SWB. Implications for personality coherence and Self-Determination Theory are discussed.

When Goal Pursuit Gets Hairy: A Longitudinal Goal Study Examining the Role of Controlled Motivation and Action Crises in Predicting Changes in Hair Cortisol, Perceived Stress, Health, and Depression Symptoms.

The action crisis is a critical phase in goal striving during which the goal pursuer feels conflicted about persevering with the goal or initiating disengagement. Recent research suggests that goal motivation, specifically controlled motivation (i.e., pursuing a goal out of obligation and pressure), increases the likelihood of experiencing action crises. In turn, action crises in goal pursuit have been linked to increases in depression symptoms and cortisol. In the present 8-month longitudinal study, we tracked university students' personal goals to examine whether the pursuit of controlled goals and the experience of action crises was associated with increasing levels of hair cortisol, perceived stress, poor health, and depression symptoms (N = 156). Structural equation modeling suggested that experiencing action crises in goal pursuit was associated with increases in markers of stress, depression, and ill-being. This effect was partially explained by controlled goal motivation. The clinical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

Feel Good, Eat Better: The Role of Self-Compassion and Body Esteem in Mothers' Healthy Eating Behaviours.

Mothers' eating behaviours are important to ensure the health and well-being of themselves and their families. Recent research has pointed to self-compassion, defined as extending kindness to oneself in times of perceived inadequacy or general suffering, as a trait associated with healthy forms of eating, such as intuitive eating, and reduced maladaptive forms of eating, such as emotional eating. However, little is known about the psychological mechanism through which self-compassion relates to healthy eating behaviours. This study examined 100 mothers' levels of self-compassion, body esteem and eating behaviours. Structural equation modelling revealed that self-compassion was positively associated with diet quality and intuitive eating, while being negatively associated with emotional eating. Moreover, these links occurred, in part, due to higher body esteem. This points to a mechanism through which self-compassion may positively contribute to mothers' healthy eating behaviours. The implications for eating outcomes and women's health are discussed.

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).

A longitudinal investigation of trait-goal concordance on goal progress: The mediating role of autonomous goal motivation.

OBJECTIVES: The present study investigated the benefits of matching personality traits with goal type (i.e., agentic or communal) for goal progress. Autonomous motivation was examined as a mediator. METHODS: A multi-wave prospective longitudinal design was employed to track the progress that 935 university students made in their personal goal pursuits over an academic year. Participants set three personal goals at baseline and completed measures of personality and goal motivation. Participants' goals were coded as being either agentic or communal. Goal progress was assessed mid-year (T2) and at the end of the academic year (T3). Goal motivation was reassessed mid-year (T2). RESULTS: Conscientiousness was significantly related to making better progress on agentic, but not communal, goals. Conversely, Extraversion was related to making communal, but not agentic, goal progress. These trait-goal matching effects on progress were partially mediated by goal-specific motivation, suggesting that the selection of goals that matched one's traits resulted in higher autonomous motivation at the start of the academic year. CONCLUSIONS: The selection of trait concordant personal goals is associated with autonomous goal motivation and greater goal progress. This research integrates Self-Determination Theory with trait theories of personality to enhance our understanding of variations in goal success.

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.

Keeping Up with the Joneses: Friends' Perfectionism and Students' Orientation Toward Extrinsic Aspirations.

Kasser and Ryan (1993,1996) have contrasted two types of life values: intrinsic aspirations, which include community contribution, building close relationships, and self-growth, and extrinsic aspirations, which include fame, wealth, and physical beauty. Prioritization of extrinsic relative to intrinsic aspirations has been related cross-sectionally to decreased well-being (Kasser, 2002). However, the influence of close others in the etiology of young adults' prioritization of extrinsic aspirations, and the prospective effects of aspirations on well-being, are not well understood. In a multiple-informant prospective study of 341 university students (mean age = 19.4; 64% Caucasian; 74% female), we examined the influence of friends' and family members' perfectionism on participants' aspirations, and the outcomes of prioritization of extrinsic aspirations. Having friends high in other-oriented perfectionism was significantly positively related to prioritization of extrinsic over intrinsic aspirations. Furthermore, living with friends amplified the effect. Last, prioritization of extrinsic aspirations at T1 was related to decreased subjective well-being and self-concordance for goals 3 months later. The study provides preliminary evidence for a relationship between friends' other-oriented perfectionism and students' orientation toward extrinsic aspirations, as well as negative prospective consequences of students' orientation to extrinsic aspirations.

Validation of the vaccine conspiracy beliefs scale.

BACKGROUND: Parents' vaccine attitudes influence their decision regarding child vaccination. To date, no study has evaluated the impact of vaccine conspiracy beliefs on human papillomavirus vaccine acceptance. The authors assessed the validity of a Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale (VCBS) and determined whether this scale was associated with parents' willingness to vaccinate their son with the HPV vaccine. METHODS: Canadian parents completed a 24-min online survey in 2014. Measures included socio-demographic variables, HPV knowledge, health care provider recommendation, Conspiracy Mentality Questionnaire (CMQ), the seven-item VCBS, and parents' willingness to vaccinate their son at two price points. RESULTS: A total of 1427 Canadian parents completed the survey in English (61.2%) or French (38.8%). A Factor Analysis revealed the VCBS is one-dimensional and has high internal consistency (α=0.937). The construct validity of the VCBS was supported by a moderate relationship with the CMQ (r=0.44, p<0.001). Hierarchical regression analyses found the VCBS is negatively related to parents' willingness to vaccinate their son with the HPV vaccine at both price points ('free' or '$300') after controlling for gender, age, household income, education level, HPV knowledge, and health care provider recommendation. CONCLUSIONS: The VCBS is a brief, valid scale that will be useful in further elucidating the correlates of vaccine hesitancy. Future research could use the VCBS to evaluate the impact of vaccine conspiracies beliefs on vaccine uptake and how concerns about vaccination may be challenged and reversed.