Personal self-determination and moderating variables that impact efforts to promote self-determination

The purpose of this second article in the special topic issue from the National Training Initiative on Self-Determination is to provide detail with regard to how we understand the self-determination construct and to discuss moderator variables and how such variables impact the design and implementation of interventions to promote self-determination. Moderator variables are baseline factors that define subgroups with greater versus lesser intervention response. That is, they are factors that need to be taken into account, a priori, when designing interventions so that the intervention might address unique needs or characteristics of the people for whom the intervention is intended.