Happy to be “me”? Authenticity, psychological need satisfaction, and subjective well-being in adolescence.
Happy to be “me”? Authenticity, psychological need satisfaction, and subjective well-being in adolescence.
Adolescents have a strong desire to “be themselves.” How does experiencing authenticity—the sense of being one’s true self—influence subjective well-being? What allows adolescents to experience authenticity? This research tests a working model of how authenticity is implicated in adolescents’ well-being. Using survey, diary, and experimental methodologies, four studies (total N=759, age-range=12-17) supported the main tenets of the model. Authenticity (1) enhances well-being, (2) co-varies with satisfaction of psychological needs for relatedness and competence, and is caused by satisfaction of the need for autonomy, and (3) mediates the link between need satisfaction and well-being. Authenticity is more than a powerful motive: It has robust, replicable effects on well-being, and may thus be a pervasive force in positive youth development.
authenticity, true self, psychological need satisfaction, subjective well-being, self-determination Theory
1-26
Thomaes, S.
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Sedikides, Constantine
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Van den Bos, N.
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Hutteman, R.
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Reijntjes, A.
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Thomaes, S.
1684aad3-13d9-4efd-9338-9fbad041a9e5
Sedikides, Constantine
9d45e66d-75bb-44de-87d7-21fd553812c2
Van den Bos, N.
35a36da9-b9e6-4596-bdc7-659aecfe7265
Hutteman, R.
f7eff1b0-d3eb-4b6f-b590-82242d45b60b
Reijntjes, A.
ffc8cad7-bf9c-43eb-9e9e-9a03550eed8e
Thomaes, S., Sedikides, Constantine, Van den Bos, N., Hutteman, R. and Reijntjes, A.
(2016)
Happy to be “me”? Authenticity, psychological need satisfaction, and subjective well-being in adolescence.
Child Development, .
(In Press)
Abstract
Adolescents have a strong desire to “be themselves.” How does experiencing authenticity—the sense of being one’s true self—influence subjective well-being? What allows adolescents to experience authenticity? This research tests a working model of how authenticity is implicated in adolescents’ well-being. Using survey, diary, and experimental methodologies, four studies (total N=759, age-range=12-17) supported the main tenets of the model. Authenticity (1) enhances well-being, (2) co-varies with satisfaction of psychological needs for relatedness and competence, and is caused by satisfaction of the need for autonomy, and (3) mediates the link between need satisfaction and well-being. Authenticity is more than a powerful motive: It has robust, replicable effects on well-being, and may thus be a pervasive force in positive youth development.
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Accepted/In Press date: 16 March 2016
Keywords:
authenticity, true self, psychological need satisfaction, subjective well-being, self-determination Theory
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 392914
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/392914
ISSN: 0009-3920
PURE UUID: e706388b-6e7e-4f7d-85fe-22daa7fb28de
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Date deposited: 19 Apr 2016 10:11
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 05:30
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Contributors
Author:
S. Thomaes
Author:
N. Van den Bos
Author:
R. Hutteman
Author:
A. Reijntjes
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