Risiko- und Schutzfaktoren, Folgen und Prävention

Acknowledgements v Table of contents vii List of tables and figures xi Tables xi Figures xi Abstract xii Zusammenfassung xvi 1 Introduction 20 2 Theoretical background 26 2.1 Definitional issues 27 2.2 Risk and protective factors for cyberbullying 42 2.3 Consequences of cyberbullying 53 2.4 Intervention and preventive approaches to cyberbullying 59 2.5 Design of the dissertation 64 3 Study 1: Definition of cyberbullying 68 3.1 Abstract 69 3.2 Introduction 70 3.3 Aims of the present study 73 3.4 Method 74 3.5 Results 77 3.6 Discussion 84 3.7 References 89 4 Study 2: Social-Behavioural Correlates of Cyberbullying 92 4.1 Abstract 93 4.2 Introduction 94 4.3 Method 95 4.4 Results 96 4.5 Discussion 98 4.6 References 99 5 Study 3: Is cyberbullying related to lack of empathy and social-emotional problems? 101 5.1 Abstract 102 5.2 Introduction 103 5.3 Research questions 104 5.4 Method 105 5.5 Results 107 5.6 Discussion 110 5.7 References 113 6 Study 4: Emotional and behavioral problems in the context of cyberbullying 118 6.1 Abstract 120 6.2 Introduction 121 6.3 Method 127 6.4 Results 131 6.5 Discussion 138 6.6 References 147 7 Study 5: Targeting cyberbullying in school 152 7.1 Abstract 154 7.2 Introduction 155 7.3 The classroom-based preventive intervention program “Medienhelden” 160 7.4 Method 162 7.5 Results 168 7.6 Discussion 172 7.7 Conclusions 174 7.8 References 176 8 General discussion 184 8.1 Summary of studies 184 8.1.1 Study 1: Definition of cyberbullying 184 8.1.2 Study 2: Social-Behavioral correlates of cyberbullying 187 8.1.3 Study 3: Is cyberbullying related to lack of empathy and social-emotional problems? 188 8.1.4 Study 4: Emotional and behavioral problems in the context of cyberbullying 189 8.1.5 Study 5: Targeting cyberbullying in school 191 8.2 Definition of cyberbullying 193 8.3 Potential risk and protective factors of cyberbullying 201 8.4 Potential impact of cyberbullying 205 8.5 Implications for the prevention of cyberbullying 210 9 Limitations and outlook 214 10 References 218 Curriculum vitae 243 Erklärung 245The aim of the present dissertation was to contribute to existing knowledge on cyberbullying in adolescence regarding definitional criteria, potential risk factors, consequences of cyberbullying victimization and perpetration and to evaluate a preventive intervention based on these results. The research questions were: (a) How are cyberbullying behaviors and definitional criteria perceived by adolescents and which term do they use for these behaviors?; (b) Are cognitive and affective empathy as well as different subtypes of aggression risk factors for cyberbullying perpetration and victimization?; (c) Are depressiveness, loneliness, social withdrawal, psychopathological symptoms and different subtypes of aggression potential consequences of being a victim or perpetrator of cyberbullying? and (d) Can a preventive intervention implemented in a classroom context and targeting cognitive and affective empathy, among others, successfully reduce cyberbullying? Five successive studies with different foci were used to investigate the research questions. Study 1 examined different definitional criteria and behavior types and asked students about the term they would use to describe these behaviors. 70 adolescents in 9 focus groups in three European countries indicated that country-specific terms are needed to describe cyberbullying. The behavior type of impersonation was not perceived as a cyberbullying act. Further, the results of this study showed that the definition criteria interact, but cyber- specific criteria are not decisive for the definition. Repetition and intention as well as the impact on the victim were perceived as important aspects. The study showed that the criteria of previously proposed definitions are applicable, but that they should be broadened to include the impact on the victim. For Germany, this study was a first indication that using the term “Cybermobbing” is adequate when working with adolescents. Study 2 examined differences in cognitive and affective empathy as well as relational aggression with regard to different involvement groups (cyberbullies and cybervictims vs. non-involved students) in a cross-sectional design. 71 students provided data which showed that perpetrators and victims of cyberbullying exhibited significantly lower levels of affective empathy and higher levels of relational aggression than non-involved students. The results indicate that a lack of affective empathy and increased levels of relational aggression might be risk factors for cyberbullying victimization and perpetration. Study 3 used data from 77 students in a short-term longitudinal design to investigate whether cognitive and affective empathy predicted cyberbullying perpetration and victimization and whether perpetration and victimization predicted psychopathological symptoms and social withdrawal. Only perpetration was predicted by a lack of affective empathy. Cognitive empathy levels predicted neither perpetration nor victimization. Neither social withdrawal nor psychopathological symptoms were predicted by either perpetration or victimization. These results indicate that a lack of affective empathy might be a risk factor for cyberbullying perpetration, but social withdrawal and psychopathological symptoms are possibly not consequences of cyberbullying perpetration or victimization, at least not in the short term. Study 4 used cross-sectional data from 412 students and short-term longitudinal data from 223 students to examine differences in and prediction of depressiveness, loneliness, instrumental aggression and reactive aggression. No differences were found for depressiveness and loneliness between the involvement groups (cyberbullies, cybervictims and cyberbully- victims vs. non-involved students) at t1. All involvement groups showed higher levels of instrumental aggression than non-involved students and both perpetrator groups were more reactively aggressive. Regression models differed by gender. Female cyberbullying victims were more depressive, and reactively and instrumentally aggressive at t2. Female cyberbullying perpetrators were more reactively aggressive whereas female cyberbully-victims showed decreases in reactive aggression at t2. Male cybervictims did not show changes in any of the variables. Male cyberbullies showed decreases in depressiveness while male cyberbully-victims showed increases in loneliness. The results indicate that the consequences of cyberbullying differ by gender and for perpetrators and victims and bully-victims. Aggression seemed to be an important consequence for all involvement groups and the study results suggest a strong need for action to prevent cyberbullying perpetration and victimization from escalating further. Study 5 analyzed the long-term effects of two versions of a cyberbullying preventive intervention targeting cognitive and affective empathy, and cyberbullying directly. Data from 722 students showed differential changes in the two intervention groups and one control group. The program was able to reduce cyberbullying and increase cognitive and affective empathy and moreover showed stronger effects for the longer version. The results indicate that reducing cyberbullying by focusing on cognitive and affective empathy in the school context is possible. This study provides empirical support for one of the first theoretically-based and evaluated programs against cyberbullying nationally and internationally. Overall, the results of the present dissertation contribute to the current knowledge on cyberbullying by providing information on students’ perception of specific behaviors and definitional aspects, by identifying potential risk factors and consequences of cyberbullying and by introducing an effective preventive intervention based on these previous findings. The studies fill some of the gaps of previous cyberbullying research and are of special value because they include longitudinal data. They also provide suggestions for future research directions and topics.Ziel der vorliegenden Dissertation war es, zum Wissen über Cybermobbing in der Adoleszenz hinsichtlich Definitionskriterien, möglichen Risikofaktoren, Folgen von Cybermobbing-Opferschaft und -Täterschaft beizutragen und eine auf diesen Ergebnissen basierende präventive Intervention zu evaluieren. Die Forschungsfragen waren: (a) Wie werden Cybermobbing-Verhaltensweisen und -Definitionskriterien von Jugendlichen wahrgenommen und welchen Begriff verwenden sie für diese Verhaltensweisen?; (b) Stellen kognitive und affektive Empathie sowie verschiedene Subtypen von Aggression Risikofaktoren für Täterschaft und Opferschaft bei Cybermobbing dar?; (c) Sind Depressivität, Einsamkeit, sozialer Rückzug, psychopathologische Symptome und verschiedene Subtypen von Aggression mögliche Folgen von Cybermobbing-Täterschaft oder -Opferschaft? und (d) Kann eine präventive Intervention, die im Klassenkontext umgesetzt wird und, unter anderem, auf kognitive und affektive Empathie abzielt Cybermobbing effektiv verringern? Fünf aufeinander folgende Studien mit unterschiedlichen Schwerpunkten dienten der Untersuchung der Forschungsfragen. Studie 1 untersuchte verschiedene Definitionskriterien und Verhaltensweisen und befragte Schüler danach, mit welchem Begriff sie diese Verhaltensweisen beschreiben würden. Aus den Antworten von 70 Jugendlichen aus 9 Fokusgruppen in drei europäischen Ländern wurde deutlich, dass länderspezifische Begriffe notwendig sind um Cybermobbing zu beschreiben. Das Verhalten „Identitätsdiebstahl“ wurde nicht als Cybermobbinghandlung wahrgenommen. Darüber hinaus zeigten die Ergebnisse dieser Studie, dass die Definitionskriterien miteinander interagieren, die cyberspezifischen Kriterien jedoch für die Definition nicht entscheidend sind. Wiederholung und Absicht sowie die Auswirkungen auf das Opfer wurden als wichtige Merkmale betrachtet. Die Studie zeigte, dass die Kriterien aus bislang vorgeschlagenen Definitionen zutreffend sind, dass sie aber um die Auswirkungen auf das Opfer erweitert werden sollten. In Bezug auf Deutschland ist diese Studie ein erster Hinweis darauf, dass die Verwendung des Begriffs „Cybermobbing“ in der Arbeit mit Jugendlichen angemessen ist. Studie 2 untersuchte mit Hilfe eines Querschnittdesigns Unterschiede in der kognitiven und affektiven Empathie sowie in der relationalen Aggression in Bezug auf unterschiedliche Beteiligungsgruppen (Cybertäter und Cyberopfer vs. nicht-involvierte Schüler). Daten waren verfügbar von 71 Schülern und sie zeigten, dass Täter und Opfer von Cybermobbing signifikant niedrigere Werte von affektiver Empathie und signifikant höhere Werte auf der Skala zur relationalen Aggression aufwiesen als nicht-involvierte Schüler. Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass ein Mangel an affektiver Empathie und hohe Werte relationaler Aggression mögliche Risikofaktoren für Opferschaft und Täterschaft bei Cybermobbing darstellen. Studie 3 verwendete Kurzzeitlängsschnittdaten von 77 Schülern und erforschte, ob kognitive und affektive Empathie die Täterschaft und Opferschaft bei Cybermobbing vorhersagte und ob Täter- und Opferschaft psychopathologische Symptome und sozialen Rückzug vorhersagen konnten. Nur die Täterschaft wurde durch einen Mangel an affektiver Empathie vorhergesagt. Das Ausmaß an kognitiver Empathie sagte weder Täter- noch Opferschaft vorher. Ebenso wurden weder sozialer Rückzug noch psychopathologische Symptome durch Täter- oder Opferschaft vorhergesagt. Diese Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass ein Mangel an affektiver Empathie ein Risiko für die Täterschaft bei Cybermobbing sein könnte. Sozialer Rückzug und psychopathologische Symptome sind jedoch möglicherweise keine Folgen von Täter- oder Opferschaft, zumindest nicht auf kurze Sicht. Studie 4 verwendete Querschnittsdaten von 412 Schülern und Kurzzeitlängsschnittdaten von 223 Schülern um Unterschiede in und die Vorhersage von Depressivität, Einsamkeit, instrumenteller Aggression und reaktiver Aggression zu untersuchen. Es wurden keine Unterschiede für Depressivität und Einsamkeit zwischen den beteiligten Gruppen (Cybertäter, Cyberopfer und Cybertäter-Opfer vs. nicht-involvierte Schüler) zu t1 gefunden. Alle involvierten Gruppen wiesen höhere Werte instrumenteller Aggression auf als nicht-involvierte Schüler und beide Tätergruppen waren zudem stärker reaktiv aggressiv. Die Regressionsmodelle zeigten Geschlechterunterschiede. Weiblich Cyberopfer waren zu t2 depressiver und stärker reaktiv und instrumentell aggressiv. Weibliche Cybertäter waren stärker reaktiv aggressiv während weibliche Cybertäter-Opfer eine Abnahme in reaktiver Aggression zu t2 zeigten. Männliche Cyberopfer zeigten keine Veränderung auf irgendeiner der Variablen. Männliche Cybertäter zeigten eine Abnahme der Depressivität während männliche Cybertäter-Opfer eine Zunahme der Einsamkeit zeigten. Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass die Folgen von Cybermobbing nach Geschlecht variieren sowie nach Täter, Opfer und Täter-Oper. Aggression schien eine wichtige Folge für alle beteiligten Gruppen zu sein und die Ergebnisse weisen auf ein großes Handlungsbedürfnis zur Prävention von Cybermobbing-Täterschaft und –Opferschaft hin um eine weitere Eskalation zu verhindern. Studie 5 analysierte die Langzeiteffekte zweier Versionen einer präventiven Intervention gegen Cybermobbing, die auf kognitive und affektive Empathie und direkt auf Cybermobbing abzielt. Daten von 722 Schülern zeigten differentielle Veränderungen in den beiden Interventionsgruppen und der einen Kontrollgruppe. Das Programm konnte Cybermobbing reduzieren und kognitive und affektive Empathie steigern. Darüber hinaus zeigte die längere Version die besseren Effekte. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass es möglich ist, Cybermobbing durch die Förderung von kognitiver und affektiver Empathie im Schulkontext zu reduzieren. Die Studie bietet eine empirische Untermauerung eines der national und international ersten, theoretisch fundierten und evaluierten Programme gegen Cybermobbing. Insgesamt tragen die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Dissertation zum aktuellen Wissensstand über Cybermobbing bei, indem sie Kenntnisse über die Wahrnehmung von Schülern bezüglich spezifischen Verhaltensweisen und definitorischen Merkmalen liefert, mögliche Risikofaktoren und Folgen von Cybermobbing identifiziert und eine wirksamkeitsnachgewiesene präventive Intervention vorstellt, die auf diesen bisherigen Befunden aufbaut. Die Studien füllen einige Lücken der bisherigen Cybermobbingforschung und sind aufgrund des Einbezugs von Längsschnittdaten von besonderem Wert. Zudem liefern sie Anregungen für zukünftige Forschungsrichtungen und -themen

Editorial: Examining bias-based cyberaggression and cybervictimization from a cross-cultural perspective

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The association between in‐class cultural diversity with empathy and bullying in adolescence: A multilevel mediation analysis

Little is known about the associations between cultural class composition, teacher support for diversity (TSD), cognitive and affective empathy, and bullying and victimisation. Research shows that empathy is negatively associated with bullying and victimisation; and support for diversity and classroom cultural diversity are positively linked to social skills. The present study examines whether cultural diversity and perceived TSD are protective factors against bullying and victimisation, either directly or mediated by empathy. Participants were 897 students from Grades 7 to 10 (Mage = 13.45, SDage = 1.07, 51.3% girls, 46.7% boys) in 36 classes. Multilevel mediation analyses were conducted. Age and gender were controlled for. More perceived TSD and affective empathy were associated with less bullying. Moreover, the effect of perceived TSD on bullying was partly indirect through affective empathy. Victimisation was not predicted by the study variables. The class level showed no effects. Bullying and victimisation are complex phenomena, which seem to be linked more to individual than to class characteristics. The result that higher perceived TSD was linked to empathy and bullying provides a promising starting point for measures of competence enhancement and bullying prevention.TU Berlin, Open-Access-Mittel – 202

Can Acting Out Online Improve Adolescents’ Well-Being During Contact Restrictions? A First Insight Into the Dysfunctional Role of Cyberbullying and the Need to Belong in Well-Being During COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Contact Restrictions

Connecting with peers online to overcome social isolation has become particularly important during the pandemic-related school closures across many countries. In the context of contact restrictions, feelings of isolation and loneliness are more prevalent and the regulation of these negative emotions to maintain a positive well-being challenges adolescents. This is especially the case for those individuals who might have a high need to belong and difficulties in emotional competences. The difficult social situation during contact restrictions, more time for online communication and maladaptive emotion regulation might lead to aggressive communication patterns in the form of cyberbullying perpetration. In an online study with N = 205 adolescents aged 14–19 (M = 15.83, SD = 1.44; 57% girls), we assessed the frequency of online and offline contacts, need to belong, emotion regulation problems, feelings of loneliness, and cyberbullying perpetration as predictors of adolescents’ well-being. In particular, we explored whether cyberbullying perpetration might function as a maladaptive strategy to deal with feelings of loneliness and therefore predicts well-being. This effect was expected to be stronger for those with a higher need to belong and with higher emotion regulation problems. Results of a hierarchical regression analysis revealed that well-being was significantly predicted by less emotion regulation difficulties, less feeling isolated and more cyberbullying perpetration. We also tested whether the need to belong or emotion regulation problems moderated the association between cyberbullying and well-being. While the results for emotion regulation problems were not significant, the moderation effect for the need to belong was significant: For students with a high need to belong, well-being was more strongly related to cyberbullying perpetration than for students with a medium need to belong. For students with a low need to belong, cyberbullying was not significantly associated with well-being. That cyberbullying perpetration predicted well-being positively is rather surprising in the light of previous research showing negative psychosocial outcomes also for cyberbullying perpetrators. The moderation analysis provides a hint at underlying processes: In times of distance learning and contact restrictions, cyberbullying may be a way of coming into contact with others and to regulate loneliness maladaptively

Prävention von Cybermobbing und Reduzierung aggressiven Verhaltens Jugendlicher durch das Programm Medienhelden: Ergebnisse einer Evaluationsstudie

"'Medienhelden' stellt eine der ersten evaluierten Interventions- und Präventionsmaßnahmen gegen Cybermobbing dar. Es bietet eine Langversion (IGL) über zehn Wochen und eine Kurzversion (IGK) von einem Tag. In der vorliegenden Studie wurden die Effekte mit den Werten einer Kontrollgruppe (KG) ohne Intervention verglichen. Längsschnittliche Daten (vor und sechs Monate nach der Intervention) von insgesamt 590 Schülerinnen und Schülern (M=13.30 Jahre, SD=0.96 Jahre; 51.7% Mädchen, 46.1% Jungen) konnten für die vorliegende Fragestellung berücksichtigt werden. Vergleiche wurden mittels MANOVAs, ANOVAs und t-Tests für verbundene Stichproben angestellt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass das Programm in der IGL wirksam Cybermobbing und die Bereitschaft zu Cybermobbing reduziert und zu einer Stagnation der Aggression führt. In der IGK stagnierten alle Werte, während sie sich in der KG verschlechterten. Die IGL zeigte gegenüber der IGK und die IGK gegenüber der KG höhere Effekte. 'Medienhelden' zeigte eine Langzeitwirkung sowohl auf das Verhalten als auch auf zugrundeliegende Risikofaktoren. Auf Grundlage der Ergebnisse wird vor allem der Einsatz der Langversion im Schulkontext empfohlen." (Autorenreferat)"The 'Medienhelden' program is one of the first evaluated preventive intervention approaches targeting cyberbullying. A ten-week-long version (IGL) and a short, one day version (IGK) are both available. The effects were compared to a control group (KG) with no intervention. Longitudinal data (before and approximately six months after the intervention) were available from 590 students (M=13.30 years, SD=0.96 years; 51.7% girls, 46.1% boys). Comparisons were conducted using MANOVAs, ANOVAs, and paired t-tests. Results show that the program effectively reduces cyberbullying and willingness to cyberbully others, and levels of aggression scores in the IGL. In the IGK, all scores stagnated, while they worsened in the KG. The IGL showed higher effects than the IGK and the IGK showed higher effects compared to the KG. The 'Medienhelden' program showed long-term effects on the behavior itself as well as on underlying risk factors. Based on the results, the utilization of the long version is especially recommended within schools." (author's abstract

Differences and Similarities across Four Countries

Cyberbullying is a ubiquitous topic when considering young people and internet and communication technologies (ICTs). For interventional purposes, it is essential to take into account the perspective of adolescents. This is the reason why our main focus is (1) investigating the role of different criteria in the perceived severity of cyberbullying incidents, and (2) examining the differences between countries in the perceived severity of cyberbullying. The sample consisted of 1,964 adolescents (48.2% girls) from middle and high schools of four different countries, i.e., Estonia, Italy, Germany, and Turkey. The participants' age ranged from 12 to 20 years old with a mean age of 14.49 (SD = 1.66) years. To assess perceived severity, participants rated a set of 128 scenarios, which systematically included one or more of five criteria (intentionality, repetition, imbalance of power, public vs. private, and anonymity) and represented four types of cyberbullying behaviors (Written—Verbal, Visual, Exclusion, Impersonation). The role of different criteria was analyzed using the Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM). Results showed a similar structure across the four countries (invariant except for the latent factors' means). Further, criteria of imbalance of power and, to a lesser extent, intentionality, anonymity, and repetition always in combination, were found to be the most important criteria to define the severity of cyberbullying. Differences between countries highlighted specific features of Turkish students, who perceived all scenarios as more severe than adolescents from other countries and were more sensitive to imbalance of power. German and Italian students showed an opposite perception of anonymity combined with intentionality. For Italian participants, an anonymous attack was less threatening than for participants of other countries, whereas for German students anonymity caused more insecurity and fear. In addition, Italian adolescents were more perceptive of the criterion of intentionality. Finally, Estonian adolescents did not show strong differences in their factor scores compared to adolescents from the other countries

Adolescent well-being and learning in times of COVID-19-A multi-country study of basic psychological need satisfaction, learning behavior, and the mediating roles of positive emotion and intrinsic motivation

The sudden switch to distance education to contain the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered adolescents' lives around the globe. The present research aims to identify psychological characteristics that relate to adolescents' well-being in terms of positive emotion and intrinsic learning motivation, and key characteristics of their learning behavior in a situation of unplanned, involuntary distance education. Following Self-Determination Theory, experienced competence, autonomy, and relatedness were assumed to relate to active learning behavior (i.e., engagement and persistence), and negatively relate to passive learning behavior (i.e., procrastination), mediated via positive emotion and intrinsic learning motivation. Data were collected via online questionnaires in altogether eight countries from Europe, Asia, and North America (N = 25,305) and comparable results across countries were expected. Experienced competence was consistently found to relate to positive emotion and intrinsic learning motivation, and, in turn, active learning behavior in terms of engagement and persistence. The study results further highlight the role of perceived relatedness for positive emotion. The high proportions of explained variance speak in favor of taking these central results into account when designing distance education in times of COVID-19.Peer reviewe

Moral Disengagement and Risk Prototypes in the Context of Adolescent Cyberbullying: Findings From Two Countries

Cyberbullying is associated with a wide range of mental health difficulties and behavioral problems in adolescents and research is needed to better understand psychological correlates of this behavior. The present study used a novel model that incorporated Social Cognitive Theory and the prototype/willingness model to identify the correlates of behavioral willingness to engage in cyberbullying in two countries. Adolescent students were randomly selected from secondary schools in Italy (n = 1710) and Greece (n = 355), and completed anonymous measures of moral disengagement, descriptive norms, risk prototype evaluations and behavioral willingness to engage in cyberbullying. Hierarchical linear regression analyses showed that willingness to engage in cyberbullying was associated with moral disengagement, prototype evaluations and descriptive social norms in Italy, and with gender, moral disengagement and descriptive social norms in Greece. Regression-based multiple mediation modeling further showed that the association between moral disengagement and cyberbullying willingness was mediated by prototype evaluations in Italy and by descriptive norms in Greece. The implications of our findings are discussed in the context of self-regulating cyberbullying perpetration in adolescents and informing school-based policies and interventions to prevent cyberbullying behavior

Distance learning in higher education during COVID-19 : The role of basic psychological needs and intrinsic motivation for persistence and procrastination–a multi-country study

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, higher educational institutions worldwide switched to emergency distance learning in early 2020. The less structured environment of distance learning forced students to regulate their learning and motivation more independently. According to self-determination theory (SDT), satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and social relatedness affects intrinsic motivation, which in turn relates to more active or passive learning behavior. As the social context plays a major role for basic need satisfaction, distance learning may impair basic need satisfaction and thus intrinsic motivation and learning behavior. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between basic need satisfaction and procrastination and persistence in the context of emergency distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in a cross-sectional study. We also investigated the mediating role of intrinsic motivation in this relationship. Furthermore, to test the universal importance of SDT for intrinsic motivation and learning behavior under these circumstances in different countries, we collected data in Europe, Asia and North America. A total of N = 15,462 participants from Albania, Austria, China, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Kosovo, Lithuania, Poland, Malta, North Macedonia, Romania, Sweden, and the US answered questions regarding perceived competence, autonomy, social relatedness, intrinsic motivation, procrastination, persistence, and sociodemographic background. Our results support SDT’s claim of universality regarding the relation between basic psychological need fulfilment, intrinsic motivation, procrastination, and persistence. However, whereas perceived competence had the highest direct effect on procrastination and persistence, social relatedness was mainly influential via intrinsic motivation.Peer reviewe