Promoting Adolescents' Heritage Cultural Identity Development in the Context of the Identity Project in Germany: The Role of Autonomy and Relatedness Basic Needs Satisfaction

Varying effects of the Identity Project, an 8-week school intervention, on heritage cultural identity development necessitate a closer look at factors influencing the intervention’s efficacy. Using latent profile cluster analysis and multinomial logistic regressions, this longitudinal study examined how need satisfaction (autonomy and relatedness) at school (1) related to heritage cultural identity development trajectories in N = 198 adolescents (Mage = 12.86 years, SDage = .75, 52% female) in Germany, and (2) moderated effects of the Identity Project. The intervention showed no main effect, and need satisfaction showed mixed effects on identity development trajectories. Yet, teacher-student relationships facilitated intervention effects on identity development trajectories, emphasizing the importance of the relational context when designing interventions to promote heritage cultural identity development.