Center for Self-Determination Theory
A living meta-analysis of self-determination theory
A perpetually updating, open-science platform for synthesising the SDT literature. Currently anchored in comprehensive basic psychological needs coverage across 100 countries, 11 life domains, and three decades of research — expanding outward across the field.
About this project
Shared infrastructure for SDT synthesis
MetaSDT is a living meta-analysis platform for self-determination theory. It is a perpetually updating, open-science infrastructure designed to host SDT synthesis in a single citable source. This shared infrastructure is designed to grow with the field.
The platform is organised into data modules each representing systematic reviews. The current version contains a comprehensive systematic review of basic psychological needs research, and is supported with data from prior published meta-analyses on autonomy support, aspirations, and regulation types (Bradshaw et al., 2023; Bureau et al., 2022; Howard et al., 2017, 2021, 2024; Slemp et al., 2018, 2024; Van den Broeck et al., 2021).
Comprehensive systematic coverage of the remaining SDT literature is planned.
Basic needs ↔ wellbeing
Pooled effect sizes across 7,460 correlations, for the three needs as both satisfaction and frustration. Random-effects multilevel estimates (Fisher-z; effects nested in samples within studies), with 95% CIs. Hover a cell or point for details.
Life satisfaction | Psych. wellbeing | Positive affect | Vitality | Self-esteem | Engagement | Negative affect | Depression | Anxiety | Stress | MH complaints | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autonomy (sat) | +0.40 | +0.45 | +0.39 | +0.45 | +0.30 | +0.48 | -0.28 | -0.39 | -0.26 | -0.32 | -0.29 |
| Competence (sat) | +0.39 | +0.50 | +0.44 | +0.48 | +0.40 | +0.48 | -0.28 | -0.40 | -0.30 | -0.33 | -0.30 |
| Relatedness (sat) | +0.37 | +0.45 | +0.39 | +0.40 | +0.31 | +0.42 | -0.24 | -0.34 | -0.23 | -0.26 | -0.25 |
| Autonomy (frust) | -0.34 | -0.40 | -0.21 | -0.25 | -0.25 | -0.29 | +0.38 | +0.42 | +0.34 | +0.40 | +0.27 |
| Competence (frust) | -0.37 | -0.52 | -0.26 | -0.31 | -0.38 | -0.25 | +0.45 | +0.50 | +0.42 | +0.50 | +0.29 |
| Relatedness (frust) | -0.34 | -0.43 | -0.17 | -0.15 | -0.19 | -0.17 | +0.38 | +0.42 | +0.37 | +0.38 | +0.25 |