title: Interpersonal relatedness, self-definition, and their motivational orientation during adolescence: a theoretical and empirical integration.
abstract: The authors examined a theoretical model linking interpersonal relatedness and self-definition (S.J. Blatt, 1974), autonomous and controlled regulation (E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan, 1985), and negative and positive life events in adolescence (N = 860). They hypothesized that motivational orientation would mediate the effects of interpersonal relatedness and self-definition on life events. Self-criticism, a maladaptive form of self-definition, predicted less positive events, whereas efficacy, an adaptive form of self-definition, predicted more positive events. These effects were fully mediated by the absence and presence, respectively, of autonomous motivation. Controlled motivation, predicted by self-criticism and maladaptive neediness, did not predict negative events. Results illustrate the centrality of protective, pleasure-related processes in adaptive adolescent development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and the Yale Program for Poverty, Disability, and Urban Health, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA. golan.shahar@yale.edu
authors.forename: Golan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shahar
authors.forename: Christopher C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Henrich
authors.forename: Sidney J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Blatt
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: Todd D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Little
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D003858:Dependency, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009042:Motivation; D010552:Personality Assessment; D010553:Personality Development; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012944:Social Support