University students’ communication in learning settings and basic psychological needs: a latent profile analysis of their interrelationships

ABSTRACT This research investigated the intertwined nature of university students’ communication in learning settings and their satisfaction/frustration of basic psychological needs. To do so, it collected data from 307 university students and explored the communication patterns defined by interrelationships among achieving communication goals, feeling confident about communicating in learning settings, and being satisfied in communicating with instructors. In addition, it assessed the degree to which groups of students who had different patterns with regard to these communication factors significantly differed in terms of the satisfaction and frustration of their basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. To examine these aspects latent profile analyses were conducted. Findings show that three groups (that is, three classes or profiles) parsimoniously represented students’ patterns of communication. Notably, profiles that illustrated more adaptive communication patterns were associated with both stronger basic needs satisfaction and weaker needs frustration than profiles that reflected less adaptive communication patterns.