Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Profiles and Their Associations With Regulatory Focus, Resilience, and Friendship Quality in University Students From New Zealand (Aotearoa) and Hawai'i, USA

This research identified unique configurations (i.e., profiles) of basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration (i.e., autonomy satisfaction, autonomy frustration, competence satisfaction, competence frustration, relatedness satisfaction, and relatedness frustration) in a sample of 771 undergraduate students attending universities from two locations in the Pacific region - New Zealand (Aotearoa) (N = 385) and Hawaiʻi, USA (N = 386). Seven profiles were identified in both study locations using latent profile analysis. Similarities and differences among these profiles were then examined in regard to regulatory focus orientation (i.e., eagerness, vigilance), resilience, and friendship quality factors. Findings indicate that profiles characterized by high satisfaction and low frustration for all needs were the most adaptive in terms of eagerness, resilience, and friendship quality. Profiles characterized by low satisfaction and high frustration for all needs were the least adaptive in terms of all factors. In addition, the results indicate that eagerness and resilience may have stronger associations with autonomy and competence than relatedness. In contrast, friendship quality may have a stronger association with relatedness than with autonomy and competence. This research is important as it provides a detailed account of the interrelationships among facets of need satisfaction and frustration and is the first to identify need profiles in two countries within the same study. These findings provide valuable insights into the motivational underpinnings of individual differences in eagerness, resilience, and friendship quality.