The Relationship between Deficiency Needs and Growth Needs: The Continuing Investigation of Maslow’s Theory

Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” theory—which hypothesized that if human lower level “deficiency needs” were not met, higher level “growth needs” would be impaired—has received substantial theoretical attention. However, less attention has been given to whether the theory is supported by empirical data in school-aged youth from the USA. In this paper, we begin by reviewing Maslow’s theory and highlighting the extent of deficiency needs in USA school-aged children. Then, we (a) introduce the Success Program—a school-based child and family intervention program designed to address non-cognitive barriers to learning—as a vehicle for addressing some of these needs, and (b) summarize Success Program evaluation research that has been conducted over the past 13 years, considering alignment of the research findings with the principles of Maslow’s theory. Our findings highlight preliminary support for the notion that basic needs fulfillment may contribute to growth needs satisfaction; however, further examination of Maslow’s theory is clearly warranted.