Place attachment enhances adolescents’ subjective well-being via basic psychological needs satisfaction in the context of peer rejection

Growing research has examined the association between place attachment and subjective well-being. Nevertheless, this relationship remains insufficiently understood due to methodological limitations and a lack of exploration into the underlying mechanisms. Drawing on the Person-Process-Place framework and Self-Determination Theory, the present research program examined whether place attachment serves a compensatory role when adolescents face typical interpersonal risk (i.e., peer rejection), and enhances subjective well-being by fulfilling basic psychological needs. We conducted three studies with a large sample of Chinese adolescents (total N = 2823). Study 1 preliminarily found a positive correlation between place attachment and subjective well-being using a cross-sectional design. Study 2, employing a three-wave longitudinal design, revealed that basic psychological needs satisfaction mediated this relationship, but only for adolescents who experienced high levels of peer rejection. Study 3 replicated the moderated mediation effect by experimentally manipulating place attachment. The present research is among the first to systematically examine the interaction between place attachment and interpersonal attachment, highlighting that place attachment can buffer against negative outcomes and promote psychological benefits when adolescents face interpersonal risks. These findings also underscored the importance of fostering positive person-place bonds in promoting adolescent psychological development.