EMPIRICAL RESEARCH Autonomy, Belongingness, and Engagement in School as Contributors to Adolescent Psychological Well-Being Mark J. Van Ryzin Æ Amy A. Gravely Æ Cary J. Roseth Received: 14 September 2007 / Accepted: 15 November 2007 / Published online: 30 November 2007 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007 Abstract Self-determination theory emphasizes the importance of school-based autonomy and belongingness to academic achievement and psychological adjustment, and the theory posits a model in which engagement in school mediates the influence of autonomy and belong- ingness on these outcomes. To date, this model has only been evaluated on academic outcomes. Utilizing short-term longitudinal data (5-month timeframe) from a set of sec- ondary schools in the rural Midwest (N = 283, M age = 15.3, 51.9% male, 86.2% White), we extend the model to include a measure of positive adjustment (i.e., hope). We also find a direct link between peer-related belongingness (i.e., peer support) and positive adjustment that is not mediated by engagement in school. A reciprocal relationship between academic autonomy, teacher-related belongingness (i.e., teacher support) and engagement in learning is supported, but this reciprocal relationship does not extend to peer-related belongingness. The implications of these findings for secondary schools are discussed. Keywords Self-determination theory Á Autonomy Á Belongingness Á Positive psychology Á Hope Introduction Self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan 2000; Deci et al. 1991) has long emphasized the importance of autonomy and belongingness to success in school. For example, high- autonomy learning situations (i.e., situations that provide students with a high degree of choice and self-direction in school) have been found to stimulate student motivation, engagement, and academic achievement (Deci et al. 1981a, b; Flink et al. 1990; Patrick et al. 1993; Ryan and Grolnick 1986; Vansteenkiste et al. 2004). Higher levels of auton- omy in school are also related to lower dropout rates (Vallerand and Bissonnette 1992). In contrast, a controlling approach by teachers creates a reduced perception of autonomy in students, which can interfere with performance on complex learning tasks (Grolnick and Ryan 1987). Academic autonomy has also been found to be essential to psychological well-being (Ryan and Deci 2000). Lower levels of academic autonomy are associated with higher levels of anxiety and negative coping strat- egies in school, whereas higher levels of autonomy are associated with positive coping strategies (Ryan and Connell 1989). In general, increasing amounts of choice and self-direction both inside and outside of school are critical to adolescent psychological development (Stein- berg 1990), and a lack of autonomy during this period can lead to various forms of psychopathology (Ryan et al. 1995) and increased participation in high-risk behav- iors (Williams et al. 2000). In short, academic autonomy is an important contributor to adolescent achievement and development. M. J. Van Ryzin (&) Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, 204 Burton Hall, 178 Pillsbury Drive SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA e-mail: vanr0040@umn.edu A. A. Gravely Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research, Minneapolis, MN 55417, USA C. J. Roseth Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA 123 J Youth Adolescence (2009) 38:1–12 DOI 10.1007/s10964-007-9257-4