Autonomy support, emotion regulation, and subjective well-being during the omicron period of the COVID-19 crisis

The COVID-19 crisis highlighted significant differences in individual resilience and susceptibility to psychological stress. This eight-month longitudinal study, involving 535 community adults (58 % female, M age = 43.97), examines the intricate relationship between social support and well-being during periods of uncertainty. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, the research explores how perceived autonomy support from close relationships—marked by active listening and empathetic perspective-taking—affects psychological need satisfaction (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), emotion regulation (integrative regulation, emotional dysregulation, and emotional suppression), and subjective well-being. The findings indicate that autonomy support is significantly related to enhanced psychological need satisfaction, integrative regulation, and subjective well-being. Additionally, psychological need satisfaction and integrative regulation mediated the relationship between autonomy support and subjective well-being. These results emphasize the critical role of autonomy-supportive relationships in promoting psychological well-being during challenging times. The study offers valuable practical implications for fostering autonomy support in close relationships and lays a foundation for future research in this area.