The Influence Of Parental Autonomy Support On Adolescents’ Future Planning

The ability of future planning is one of the key competencies of adolescents to development,which is of great significance to adolescents’ current adaptation and future social functions.A large number of empirical studies have shown that parental autonomy support is an important predictor of future planning for adolescents.However,there is no research yet to reveal the mediation mechanism of this relationship.Based on the selfdetermination theory,the current study intends to explore the mediation mechanism between parental autonomy support and adolescents’ future planning from the perspective of basic psychological needs satisfaction and personal growth initiative.In study 1,using the method of questionnaire,a cross-sectional design was conducted to investigate 562 primary and secondary school students to test the relationship between parental autonomy support and future planning,as well as the chain mediating role of basic psychological needs and personal growth initiative.The results showed that:(1)parental autonomy support positively predicted adolescents’ future planning for education,but not for occupation;(2)basic psychological needs and personal growth initiative play a role of chained mediating in the prediction of parental autonomy support for adolescents’ future planning;(3)after bringing the mediating effect of psychological needs and personal growth initiative into the relationship,parental autonomy support has significant negative residual effects on adolescents’ future occupation planning,but that on future education planning is not significant.On the basis of the result model from study 1,study 2 was to further explore the longterm influence of parental autonomy support to adolescents’ future planning,and to verify the chained mediation model from a longitudinal perspective.This hypothesis was tested in a sample of 375 adolescents using a three-wave longitudinal study with a 5-months interval.Structural equation modeling analyses showed that:(1)basic psychological needs and personal growth initiatives play the role of chained mediating serially between parental autonomy support and adolescents’ future planning;(2)there is significant reciprocal effects between parental autonomy support and basic psychological needs,and between personal growth initiative and future planning;(3)there is no significant reciprocal effects between basic psychological needs and personal growth initiative.Findings of this two studies show that basic psychological needs and personal growth initiative are important potential mediating mechanisms for the influence of parental autonomy support to adolescents’ future planning.These findings are of great value in promoting adolescents’ future planning and promoting the development of young people.