The mediating roles of academic self-efficacy and academic emotions in the relation between basic psychological needs satisfaction and learning engagement among Chinese adolescent students

Abstract A sample of 605 junior school students in China was examined by using a Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction Scale, an Academic Self-efficacy Scale, an academic emotions scale, and a Learning Engagement Scale to explore the relations among competence, autonomy, and relatedness satisfaction, academic self-efficacy, positive and negative academic emotions, and learning engagement. The findings showed that under mutual control between the three kinds of needs satisfaction, the direct prediction of competence and relatedness satisfaction on learning engagement were significant, but autonomy satisfaction was not; academic self-efficacy and positive academic emotions could mediate the relations between both competence and relatedness satisfaction to learning engagement; negative academic emotions could only mediate the relation of relatedness satisfaction, but not of competence satisfaction, to learning engagement; both competence and relatedness satisfaction had positive prediction on learning engagement through academic self-efficacy via positive/negative academic emotions in a multiple mediating way. Educators and relevant researchers are suggested to be aware of the cultural difference in the roles of basic psychological needs satisfaction under different learning contexts, especially autonomy satisfaction.