![]() SDT (Deci & Ryan, 2000 Ryan & Deci, 2017), one of the most prominent and intensively studied theories in research on mental health, posits the basic psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence as essential and universal nutrients for well-being and psychosocial adjustment (Vansteenkiste et al., 2020). Basic Psychological Needs as a Source of Resilience To better understand who benefits the most from this program, we also considered the moderating role of individuals’ program engagement. ![]() Specifically, we examined effects of this program on individuals’ need crafting skills, need-based experiences, and mental health. In this study, we sought to examine the effectiveness of an online program, LifeCraft, that aims to train individuals’ capacity to proactively uplift their own need-based experiences (i.e., need crafting). ![]() Yet, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the introduced safety measures, individuals’ opportunities to satisfy their basic needs were seriously compromised (Šakan et al., 2020 van der Kaap-Deeder et al., 2021 Vermote et al., 2021).Īccordingly, an important question is how we can strengthen individuals’ capacity to seek for opportunities to get their own psychological needs met in times of stress and insecurity, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. These three basic psychological needs are considered as universal ingredients of well-being and key resources for resilience in the face of stress (Vansteenkiste et al., 2020). To understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals’ mental health, Self-Determination Theory (SDT, Ryan & Deci, 2017) highlights the importance of individuals’ basic psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence. The pandemic affected the mental health of individuals across different age groups (e.g., Cao et al., 2020 van der Kaap-Deeder et al., 2021), cultures (e.g., Alzueta et al., 2021), and among both individuals with pre-existing mental health problems (Neelam et al., 2020) and individuals without a history of mental health issues (e.g. The psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been demonstrated in studies documenting increases in psychological problems (e.g., anxiety, depression, suicidality, substance use) and decreases in well-being (e.g., life satisfaction, vitality) (Alzueta et al., 2021 Blasco-Belled et al., 2020 Bueno-Notivol et al., 2021 Czeisler et al., 2020 Nguyen & Le, 2021). The virus represents a threat to both individuals’ physical and mental health as the imposed sanitary measures (e.g., keeping physical distance, limiting social contacts) involve a strong rupture with individuals’ daily routines (e.g., Boden et al., 2021 Brooks et al., 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has become one of the largest global health challenges, with more than 260 million cases confirmed across the world in Winter 2021 (WHO, 2021). To conclude, the findings provide initial evidence for the effectiveness of LifeCraft during the COVID-19 pandemic, with active participation being a prerequisite for the program to be effective. Further, changes in need crafting fully mediated changes in need-based experiences and well-being. After taking into account the role of program engagement, findings showed that the program was more beneficial for participants who actively participated, with these participants reporting immediate and stable increases in need crafting, need satisfaction and well-being and decreases in need frustration. There were only small immediate program-effects on need crafting and well-being. At the level of the entire sample, there was limited evidence for the effectiveness of the program. An experimental study among 725 Belgian adults was conducted, with an experimental condition of 252 and a control condition of 473 participants. Next to the effects on individuals’ need crafting skills, we examined program-effects on adults’ need-based experiences and mental health and we explored the role of participants’ program engagement. The current study provides a preliminary test of the effectiveness of a 7-session online program, LifeCraft, that promotes individuals’ proactive attempts to uplift their need-based experiences (i.e., need crafting). Yet, the pandemic seriously hampered individuals’ opportunities to satisfy their needs. Self-Determination Theory assumes that the satisfaction of basic psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness and competence promotes psychological well-being during destabilizing times. ![]() The COVID-19 pandemic represents a threat not only to individuals’ physical health but also to their mental health.
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