According to Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence is essential for well-being and life satisfaction (Chen et al., 2015; Ryan & Deci, 2000). In school contexts, basic need satisfaction has been linked to higher academic achievement, adaptive learning behaviour, positive classroom climate and psychological well-being (Wang et al., 2019), whereas need frustration is associated with emotional distress and problem behaviour (Chen et al., 2015).

Despite the fact that self-determination theory assumes the universality of fundamental psychological needs, it explicitly acknowledges that the extent to which these needs are supported or frustrated depends on contextual conditions, including the educational environment and individual factors (Ryan & Deci, 2000). In educational settings, learning environments that support autonomy, relatedness, and competence promote not only academic outcomes, such as reading competence (Ha & Roehrig, 2025), but also students’ psychological well-being and overall life satisfaction (Chen et al., 2015).

However, while basic psychological needs are well researched among students without special educational needs (e.g. Wang et al., 2019), research involving students with special educational needs is still limited. Existing studies suggest that these students experience lower levels of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, particularly those with emotional and behavioural difficulties (Rogers & Tannock, 2018). As impairments in autonomy satisfaction can negatively affect children’s motivation and engagement (Ryan & Deci, 2000) further studies examining the extent to which basic psychological needs are satisfied in students with special educational needs also compared to their peers without special educational needs are vital.

Empirical findings suggest a decline in life satisfaction during adolescence (Orben et al., 2022). Moreover, students with special educational needs often report lower life satisfaction during their school years, especially in inclusive settings compared to special schools (Herke, 2018). Although such differences do not necessarily persist throughout life, former students with special educational needs tend to experience lower life satisfaction in adulthood, partly due to structural disadvantages in the labor market (Blanck et al., 2025).

Taken together, these findings point to the need to identify factors that can sustainably influence the life satisfaction of students with special educational needs. Basic psychological needs may play a crucial role in this regard, as experiences of autonomy, relatedness, and competence are closely linked to life satisfaction and can positively impact it (Milyavskaya et al., 2009). However, while there is evidence for students without special educational needs, concrete empirical evidence of the influence of basic psychological needs on the general life satisfaction of students with special educational needs remains scarce.

Against this background, the present study first investigates differences in the life satisfaction and basic need satisfaction between students with and without special educational needs. Second, the study examines the relationship between basic psychological need satisfaction and life satisfaction, and investigates whether these relationships vary between students with and without special educational needs.

The sample was drawn from the INSIDE project (“Inclusion in and after lower secondary education in Germany”; Gresch et al., 2026), which was conducted in 14 federal states in Germany. Data from 2,406 students (51 % female) in grades 9 and 10 were included in the analyses. Of these, 335 students (14%) were identified as having special educational needs, either through an official diagnosis or through receiving special support without a formal diagnosis, during the course of the project (2019–2024). To assess basic psychological needs, the three scales measuring need satisfaction from Heissel et al. (2018) were used, each consisting of four items: autonomy (α = .76; e.g., “I feel a sense of choice and freedom in the things I undertake.”), relatedness (α = .74; e.g., “I feel that the people I care about also care about me.”), and competence (α = .75; e.g., “I feel capable at what I do.”). All were rated on a 4-point scale, ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 4 = strongly agree. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated an acceptable model fit (CFI = 0.949; TLI = 0.934; RMSEA = 0.061 [0.056; 0.066]; SRMR = 0.050). Overall life satisfaction was assessed with a single item. Students were asked, “How satisfied are you with your life overall?” and responded on a 10-point scale ranging from 0 = not at all satisfied to 10 = completely satisfied. Prior to the analyses, measurement invariance of the scales measuring need satisfaction was examined between students with and without special educational needs. Three progressively stricter models were specified and compared pairwise (Putnick & Bornstein, 2016)): (1) a configural model (equal factor structure); (2) a metric model (equal factor structure and loadings); and (3) a scalar model (equal factor structure, loadings and intercepts). To investigate potential group differences in life satisfaction, an independent-samples t-tests was conducted. Concerning differences in need satisfaction, latent means of the three needs were compared in the model demonstrating (partial) scalar invariance. To examine potential group differences in the associations between needs and life satisfaction, a structural equation model was specified based on the (partially) scalar invariant model. Autonomy, relatedness, and competence were modelled as latent predictors of the manifest overall life satisfaction. Difference between students with and without special educational needs were examined in multiple-group analyses.

Partial scalar measurement invariance was established for the scales assessing need satisfaction among students with and without special educational needs. Overall, students reported high levels of satisfaction with their basic needs and their overall life. Subsequent group comparisons revealed no statistically significant differences between the two groups, neither with regard to need satisfaction (autonomy: β = 0.019, p = .780; relatedness: β = -.075, p = .242; competence: β = -0.066, p = .337) nor with respect to overall life satisfaction (t[2349] = -0.677, p = .498). Consistent with Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000), structural equation modelling revealed that the three basic psychological needs were each significantly and independently associated with life satisfaction (autonomy: β = .453, p < .001; relatedness: β = .453, p < .001; competence: β = .453, p < .001). Multiple-group analyses further indicated that the associations between the basic psychological needs and life satisfaction did not differ significantly between students with and without special educational needs. Overall, the findings suggest generally positive levels of the investigated variables for students in inclusive lower secondary schools. Contrary to expectations, no difference between students with and without special educational needs were observed. This may be explained by the broad operationalization of special educational needs, which encompassed students with diverse support needs as well as both formally diagnosed and non-diagnosed students receiving special educational support. This lack of differentiation may have obscured differences observed in previous studies (e.g. Kröske, 2020). However, individual or contextual factors may also play a critical role and should be investigated in future research. The findings will be further discussed with reference to their implications for inclusive education as well as for further international research in this field. Furthermore, limitations (e.g., no causality) will be addressed.

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