Basic Psychological Needs, Quality of Motivation, and Protective Behavior Intentions: A Nationally Representative Survey

Objective: Citizens’ volitional engagement in protective behaviors is essential for successful pandemic management, as much of the required adherence is beyond authorities’ control and difficult to monitor. Building on the Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this study examines how basic psychological need satisfaction (BPNS) related to COVID-19 behavioral measures is associated with the quality of motivation (autonomous vs. controlled), and whether this quality of motivation is predictive of the intention to wear a face mask and to avoid meeting others. Methods: Cross-sectional survey study involving a nationally representative sample (N = 2272) was conducted in Finland in May 2021, when protective behaviors were recommended to prevent acceleration of the epidemic. Mann-Whitney U tests, Kruskal-Wallis tests, linear regression analysis, and multinomial logistic regression were conducted. Results: All three psychological needs were positively related to autonomous motivation (all p<.001). Satisfaction of autonomy (β = .234) and relatedness (β = .402) had larger effects than competence (β = .091). Autonomous motivation (range Exp(B) = 1.82‒3.55, p = .001) was consistently related to intention to wear a mask and intention to avoid meeting people. Controlled motivation (range Exp(B) = .66‒.93, p = .001‒.457) was associated with decreased protective behavior intentions. The effects of amotivation (range Exp(B) = .65‒1.02, p = .001‒.911) varied across analyses. Conclusions: Fostering autonomous motivation could increase adherence to protective behaviors in situations without clear mandates. The results also suggest that increasing perceptions of pressure or appealing to personal risk and fear may not advance adherence as effectively.