A Preliminary Research On Autonomy Support In Romantic Relationships

On the basis of the self-determination theory, the study revised some questionnairesrelevant to close relationships based on self-determination theory. 6 questionnaires wereadministered to 640 students in colleges and universities in Hebei province. This study aimedto explore the traits of autonomy support in romantic relationships and the relations betweenautonomy support and basic psychological need satisfaction, psychological well-being andperceived relationship quality of partners in romantic relationships. The main conclusionswere as follows:(1) The 6 revised questionnaires (Romantic Autonomy Support Questionnaire,Psychological Well-being Scale, Autonomy Support Provided to Lover Questionnaire, BasicPsychological Need Satisfaction Scale, Emotional Reliance Scale and Dyadic AdjustmentScale) had good reliability and validity, and they can be used for future studies concerningautonomy support in romantic relationships.(2) Autonomy support in romantic relationships had great mutuality.(3) In romantic relationships, one's perceived autonomy support from one's lover,perceived autonomy support given to one's lover, basic psychological need satisfaction,psychological well-being, romantic relationship satisfaction, emotional reliance and dyadicadjustment had significant positive correlations with the 7 psychological variables of his/herpartner.(4) In romantic relationships, one's perceived autonomy support from one's lover wassignificantly positively related to his/her basic psychological need satisfaction, psychologicalwell-being, romantic relationship satisfaction, emotional reliance and dyadic adjustment.(5) In romantic relationships, perceived autonomy support given to one's lover wassignificantly positively related to basic psychological need satisfaction, psychologicalwell-being, romantic relationship satisfaction, emotional reliance and dyadic adjustment ofthe givers.(6) Autonomy support in romantic relationships could significantly positively predict basic psychological need satisfaction, psychological well-being and perceived relationship qualityof the partners.