Evidence mapPaperPMID 42100536Full record

ArticleFrontiers in public health2026

Latent profiles of basic psychological needs and their associations with health risk behaviors among engineering college students.

Haitao Niu, Bochuan Zhao

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Article in Frontiers in public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Haitao NiuSchool of Physical Education, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
Bochuan ZhaoSchool of Physical Education and Health, Guilin University, Guilin, Guangxi, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: Grounded in self-determination theory (SDT), this study aimed to identify latent profiles of basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) among engineering college students and to examine between-profile differences in health risk behaviors. Methods: Using convenience sampling, 251 undergraduate engineering students at a university in Shandong Province, China, were surveyed between May and June 2021. Measures included basic psychological need satisfaction and seven health risk behavior indicators (unhealthy weight control, traffic risk behavior, bullying victimization, loneliness, suicide risk, smoking, and internet addiction). Latent profile analysis (LPA) was employed to identify distinct need satisfaction patterns. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted to compare health risk behaviors across profiles. Results: Three latent profiles were identified: a low-need-satisfaction profile (74.5%), a moderate-need-satisfaction profile (19.9%), and a high-need-satisfaction profile (5.6%). MANOVA revealed a significant overall difference in health risk behaviors across profiles (Pillai's Trace = 0.103, Conclusion: Basic psychological need satisfaction among engineering college students is heterogeneous, and students with low need satisfaction were associated with elevated suicide risk. These findings support SDT's predictions regarding the association between need satisfaction and psychological adjustment, and provide preliminary evidence that may inform targeted mental health interventions in higher education.

Indexed as

Health Risk BehaviorsStudentsAdolescentAdultChinaFemaleHumansMalePersonal AutonomyPersonal SatisfactionPsychological Well-BeingSurveys and QuestionnairesUniversitiesYoung Adultbasic psychological needsengineering college studentshealth risk behaviorslatent profile analysisself-determination theory

Identifiers

PMID42100536
PMCPMC13144100

What Socratic holds

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