Exploring the Relationships among Perceived Teacher’s Autonomy Support, Motivational Regulations, and Social-Emotional Outcomes

The present study examined the relationships among perceived teacher’s autonomy support, four motivational regulations (external, introjected, identified, intrinsic), and four social-emotional outcomes (self-efficacy, resilience, test anxiety, and perceived stress). A total of 130 primary students aged between 10 and 11 (M = 10.36; SD = 0.48) were recruited in Singapore. In particular, the mediating effects of four motivational regulations in the relationship between teacher’s autonomy support and social-emotional outcomes were tested using bootstrapping method. Results of the study indicated that external regulation and intrinsic motivation were two mediators between teacher’s autonomy support and test anxiety. Surprisingly, introjected regulation was positively associated with test anxiety and perceived stress and functioned as a significant mediator between teacher’s autonomy support and test anxiety and perceived stress. Teacher’s autonomy support may serve as a potential approach to develop students’ positive social-emotional outcomes such as self-efficacy and resilience while reduce negative social-emotional influences such as test anxiety and stress through activating students’ motivational resources. The present study provides novel insights into the relationships between SDT and four social-emotional outcomes by considering the four types of motivational regulation as mediators to investigate the effects of perceived teacher’s autonomy support on students’ SEL-related outcomes.