title: Testing satisfaction of basic psychological needs as a mediator of the relationship between socioeconomic status and physical and mental health.
abstract: This research applied self-determination theory to examine the degree to which satisfaction of basic psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence explained the association between socioeconomic status and physical and mental health outcomes, while controlling for age, exercise, and smoking status. This was a survey research study with 513 full-time employees in professions representative of a hierarchal organization. The results of the structural equation model verify that psychological need satisfaction mediates the inverse association between socioeconomic status and physical and mental health. Self-determination theory contributes to understanding the psychosocial roots of the uneven distribution of health across the socioeconomic gradient.
authors.affiliation: University of Rochester Medical Center, USA maynor_gonzalez@urmc.rochester.edu.
authors.forename: Maynor G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: González
authors.affiliation: University of Rochester, USA.
authors.forename: Dena P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Swanson
authors.affiliation: University of Rochester, USA.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lynch
authors.affiliation: University of Rochester Medical Center, USA.
authors.forename: Geoffrey C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012923:Social Class
keywords: basic psychological needs; mediator; physical and mental health; socioeconomic status