Introduction
Self-determination theory (SDT) is a human motivation theory with interesting implications for fulfillment of goals [15]. Self-determination refers to volitional actions taken by people based on their wills and self-determined behaviors as behaviors come from conscious choices [20]. According to this theory, individuals with high self-determination or autonomy are self-motivated and self-directed, and are better able to follow their goals and desires. To overcome negative emotions and continue pursuing the goal, it is necessary for people to use effective ways to regulate their negative emotions [5, 6]. 
Intrinsic motivation is a prominent concept in SDT. This theory distinguishes between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation [25]. Intrinsic or autonomous motivation involves engaging in self-determined behavior that is consistent with intrinsic goals, leading to personal endorsement, interest, and satisfaction. In contrast, extrinsic or controlled motivation refers to engaging in behaviors performed for extrinsic reasons, such as obtaining rewards, approval from others, or avoiding punishment or guilt [26]. Given the importance of goal pursuit in adolescence, the present study aims to examine the mediating role of intrinsic motivation in the relationship of emotion regulation styles and self-determination with goal pursuit in adolescents.

Methods
This is a cross-sectional study using the structural equation modeling (SEM). Participants were male and female high school students aged 15-19 in Tehran, Iran in 2022. The sample size was calculated to be 236 people using Gpower software considering an alpha of 0.05, effect size of 0.10, and test power of 0.90. However, to improve the generalizability of the results, it increased to 503. Sampling was done in 4-5 months using on convenience sampling method. The inclusion criteria were age 15-19 years and being a high school student in Tehran. The exclusion criteria were any illness or physical disability that avoid completing the questionnaires and not answering more than 30% of items. Participants filled out the persistence scale, the emotion regulation inventory, the emotional autonomy scale, and the intrinsic motivation inventory.

Results
In this study, participants were 310 female and 193 male high school students. The results showed that the dysregulated (β=-0.204, P=0.001), suppressive (β=0.124, P=0.040), and integrative (β=0.359, P=0.001) emotion regulation styles had significant correlations with goal pursuit. Moreover, the dysregulated (β=-0.164, P=0.013) and integrative (β=0.283, P=0.001) styles directly and significantly correlated with intrinsic motivation (Tables 1 and 2).




According to the results in Table 3, Intrinsic motivation was found to have a direct and significant correlation with goal pursuit (P=0.001, β=0.332).


Furthermore, intrinsic motivation was found to have a mediating role in the relationship of dysregulated (β=-0.054, P=0.007) and integrative (β=0.094, P=0.001) emotion regulation styles with goal pursuit. Self-determination could not significantly predict goal pursuit (β=0.077, P=0.137) neither directly nor through intrinsic motivation (β=0.066, P=0.265).

Conclusion
The findings showed that integrative emotion regulation style both directly and through intrinsic motivation facilitated goal pursuit in high school students, while dysregulated emotion regulation hindered their goal pursuit directly and through intrinsic motivation. Interestingly, the suppressive emotion regulation style was found to facilitate goal pursuit in high school students but not through intrinsic motivation. Self-determination could not predict goal pursuit of adolescents. Therefore, it can be concluded that intrinsic motivation plays a mediating role in the relationship of dysregulated and integrative emotion regulation styles with goal pursuit in Iranian adolescents. Intrinsic motivation also has a significant positive correlation with their goal pursuit. 

Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
The ethical principles, such as obtaining informed consent from the participants, the confidentiality of their information, giving them the right to leave the study, were observed in this research. Ethical approval was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of Iran University of Medical Sciences (Code: IR.IUMS.REC.1401.465).

Funding
This article was extracted from master’s thesis of Fatemeh Sadr, approved by Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences.

Authors contributions
Conceptualization: Fatemeh Sadr, Ghazaleh Zargarinejad, Fahimeh Fathali Lavasani; Data collection and implementation: Fatemeh Sadr; Methodology: Komeil Zahedi Tajrishi; Writing the initial draft: Fatemeh Sadr and Ghazaleh Zargarinejad; Supervision: Ghazaleh Zargarinejad, Fahimeh Fathali Lavasani and Komeil Zahedi Tajrishi; Review and editing: All authors.

Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest. 

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank all the adolescents who participated in the study for their cooperation.


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