The Relationship between Parenting Styles and Psychological need Satisfaction as Perceived by High School Students

Abstract

The three basic psychological needs - autonomy, competence, and relatedness - play a vital role in promoting learning motivation, mental health, and holistic development among high school students. Guided by Self-Determination Theory, this study explored the relationship between parenting styles and the satisfaction of psychological needs among 311 students from two high schools in Hanoi. Parenting styles were assessed using the Perceptions of Parents Scale (Robbins, 1994), and psychological need satisfaction was measured using the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (Chen et al., 2015). These instruments were previously validated for lower secondary students by Nguyen Phuc Loc and Tran Thi Le Thu (2023) and were adapted for high school students in this study. Results showed that students reported moderate levels of need satisfaction, with relatedness being the highest. Both fathers and mothers displayed positive parenting characteristics, but mothers were rated higher overall, especially in warmth. Parenting dimensions were positively correlated with the satisfaction of all three psychological needs. Multiple regression analysis revealed that parental warmth from both parents strongly predicted relatedness and autonomy, while mothers’ autonomy support predicted competence. The findings highlight the significant role of parenting in fostering adolescents’ psychological development and suggest the importance of culturally sensitive interventions in the Vietnamese context.