Objective  To explore mediation effect of basic psychological needs on relationship between perceived autonomy support and happiness among college students, and to provide evidences for creating an autonomous atmosphere and improving educational environment in colleges.

  Methods  We conducted a questionnaire survey among 713 undergraduates selected with random cluster sampling in 5 universities or colleges in Wuhan city of Hubei province. All the participants were assessed with Perceived Autonomy Support Questionnaire, Basic Psychological Need Scale and Oxford Happiness Questionnaire-Short Scale.

  Results  The score of perceived autonomy support was 54.44 ± 8.86 and the happiness score was 30.95 ± 5.87 for all the participants. The score of relatedness need (3.71 ± 0.35) was higher than that of competenceneed (23.88 ± 5.57) and autonomy need (23.68 ± 6.19). There were significant positive associations of basic psychological needs with perceived autonomy support and happiness (P < 0.01). The basic psychological needs mediated the relationship between perceived autonomy support and happiness partially, with a mediated effect value of 0.19.

  Conclusion  Basic psychological need plays a mediation role on the relationship between perceived autonomy support and happiness among college students.