The role of parent-child relatedness in self-determination theory in the Hong Kong context

(1) Objective: To investigate whether relatedness would moderate the prediction of autonomy on children’s perceived competence and psychological well-being. (2) Methods: 328 fifth and sixth grade students were recruited from local mainstream primary schools and asked to complete a questionnaire on autonomy, relatedness, competence and psychological well-being. (3) Results: Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the main effect and interaction effect of relatedness and autonomy on perceived competence and psychological well-being. After children’s school, grade level, age, and sex were statistically controlled, parent-child relatedness was significantly associated with children’s perceived competence positively in all three domains: emotional, social and academic. Mother-child relatedness uniquely moderated the prediction of autonomy on children’s psychological well-being. When mother-child relatedness was high, high autonomy would predict positive psychological well-being. By contrast, when mother-child relatedness was low, high autonomy would not predict positive psychological well-being. Also, parent-child relatedness mediated between parental autonomy and children’s perceived emotional competence. (4) Conclusion: These results demonstrate that both parent-child relatedness and autonomy are important for Hong Kong children’s development. All rights reserved.