The relationship between parental autonomy support and subjective well-being: chain mediating effects of basic psychological needs and sense of meaning in life

Subjective well-being has a significant impact on various aspects of an individual's life, and elementary school is a critical time for individuals to establish the foundation for subjective well-being. Previous studies have examined the relationship between parental autonomy support and subjective well-being. However, few studies have examined the association between parental autonomy support and subjective well-being among elementary school students, and rarely examine the mechanism of the association. The current study aimed to explore the impact of parental autonomy support on elementary school students' subjective well-being, and the chain mediation of basic psychological needs and sense of life meaning. A total of 1113 parent-child pairs from grades 3 to 6 completed the surveys, with parents reporting on parental autonomy support and students reporting on their subjective well-being, basic psychological needs, and sense of meaning in life. The age range of the students was 9-14 years old with an average age of 10.78 years, 621 boys and 492 girls, while the age range of the parents was 32-60 years old with an average age of 39.64 years. A significant positive correlation between parental autonomy support and subjective well-being was found. Basic psychological needs and sense of meaning in life mediated the relationship between parental autonomy support and subjective well-being individually and serially. This means that parental autonomy support can indirectly affect subjective well-being through a chain mediation of basic psychological needs and a sense of meaning in life, providing insights for intervention measures to improve the subjective well-being of primary school students.The present study contributes a deeper understanding of the mechanism of the association between parental autonomy support and subjective well-being and implies it is necessary to give more attention to basic psychological needs and sense of meaning in life in the improving subjective well-being of elementary school students.