A moderated multilevel multiple mediation model of the effect of class teacher communication style on adolescents' school adjustment: the roles of basic psychological needs and psychological suzhi.

Aim: This study investigated the relationship between class teacher communication style and adolescents' school adjustment, with a particular focus on the mediating role of basic psychological needs and the serial mediating and moderating effects of psychological suzhi. Methods: A total of 2,578 adolescents from 51 classes across four schools participated in a questionnaire survey, yielding 2,418 valid responses. The sample included students from both rural and urban schools, ranging from grades 7 to 11. A moderated multilevel multiple mediation model was employed, in which basic psychological needs (autonomy, relatedness, and competence) and psychological suzhi formed a serial mediation pathway linking teacher communication style to school adjustment. Mediation and moderation effects were tested using the bias-corrected bootstrap method in Mplus. Results: Results showed that (1) both dimensions of teacher communication style significantly and positively predicted adolescents' school adjustment at both the student and class levels; (2) each of the three basic psychological needs independently mediated this relationship, with hierarchical differences in the mediation effects; (3) psychological suzhi also served as an independent mediator at the student level; (4) the serial mediation pathway through basic psychological needs and psychological suzhi was largely supported; and (5) psychological suzhi stably moderated the second stage of the competence-related mediation pathway at the student level. Conclusion: A communication style characterized by both communion and agency was more conducive to adolescents' school adjustment. Both basic psychological needs and psychological suzhi mediated the relationship between teacher communication style and school adjustment, with a serial mediation pathway also observed, albeit with differences across need types and analytical levels. Higher levels of psychological suzhi reduced adolescents' dependence on the satisfaction of competence needs, indicating a potential resource substitution effect.