Transmission of Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction between Parents and Adolescents: The Critical Role of Parental Perceptions

While studies have documented the importance of basic psychological need satisfaction in parent-child relationships, a gap remains in understanding how parent and adolescent need satisfactions are associated. Using two longitudinal intergenerational datasets (200 parent-adolescent dyads and 408 mother-adolescent dyads; two waves), we examined whether (1) parents’ need satisfaction predicts adolescents’ need satisfaction (parental needs effect), (2) adolescents’ need satisfaction predicts parents’ need satisfaction (child’s needs effect), and (3) parental perception of adolescent’s need satisfaction predicts adolescents’ need satisfaction (parental perception effect). Findings from cross-lagged path models analogous to actor-partner interdependence models only supported parental perception effects: parents’ T1 perception of their adolescent’s need satisfaction predicted their adolescent’s T2 self-reported need satisfaction, especially for autonomy and competence needs. Findings highlight the importance of parents’ perceptions, which may benefit the design of new interventions for basic psychological needs.