When Abraham Maslow launched his famous Hierarchy of Needs in the 1940s, it’s doubtful he could have anticipated how parents, psychologists, and direct care professionals would be applying it to a global pandemic. Yet uncertain circumstances of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic have shown the value now–more than ever–of Maslow’s understanding of caring for ourselves and each other.
If you’re a parent or care provider making difficult decisions in these uncertain times, here’s a complete guide of how Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs should be one tool added to your toolkit during the pandemic.
About Maslow’s Hierarchy
For those new to Maslow’s Hierarchy, it was developed by Abraham Maslow, a psychologist in 1943. It organizes the needs of individuals into a pyramidal hierarchy of five different levels:
- Physiological Needs – include our basic human needs for survival like food, clean water, and air.
- Safety Needs – include the elements required for humans to feel safe and secure. Safety and security needs can consist of physical shelter or financial stability.
- Love and Belonging Needs – include our human need to be loved and to belong to a family or community.
- Esteem Needs – include the desire to be respected and to respect others in the community or family. Esteem needs can consist of appreciation for other’s accomplishments and our own desire to feel successful.
- Self-Actualization Needs – include needs at the highest level of the hierarchy. Self-actualization needs include our need for personal development, growth, and achieving our full potential.
The basic premise of the framework and Maslow’s philosophy was that we need to fulfill the base of the pyramid or ensure our basic needs are met first before we attempt to fulfill all other high order needs. While it’s not impossible to achieve personal growth and our full potential, according to Maslow’s theory, it’s highly unlikely to happen if we face issues like food insecurity or threats to our personal safety. Maslow’s framework suggests we build tools and skills to address those base needs first and then work upward towards self-actualization.
How Maslow’s Hierarchy Applies for Individuals with Unique Needs
Maslow’s Hierarchy has been cited in thousands of studies and used worldwide in the development of social and governmental programs. It’s also been cited as applicable to individuals with developmental disabilities, including autism. Regardless of skills and diagnoses, individuals with unique learning needs still must have their basic needs for food, water, shelter, and security met.
How those needs are met may be different–and many individuals may need ongoing support to meet them–but they still must be met. As you progress through the hierarchy, needs for esteem and self-actualization may look different for individuals with unique learning needs, but they are still relevant.
Maslow’s Hierarchy During COVID-19: Pandemic Tools for Parents
With the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, many parents and families are faced with an unfamiliar and frightening environment. With many therapy and service providers shuttering for an indefinite time, parents find themselves without the same resources at their disposal to promote the success of their children. Now more than ever, it’s essential for parents to regroup and focus on the basics.
Using Maslow’s Hierarchy as a tool, it’s possible to take a step back and examine what’s most important. Parents, who just a few weeks ago found themselves working to boost the esteem and love and belonging needs of their child, may now find themselves struggling to meet the basic physiological needs. According to Maslow’s framework, that’s okay. In fact, that may be the most critical strategy given the current stressors and challenges families face.
By using the hierarchy as a decision-making guide, parents can take control of a difficult situation and focus on what’s most likely to help a child succeed.
Focus on basic physiological needs first.
Before beginning to address any other needs or attempting to manage what’s out of your control during COVID-19, stop, and focus on basic physiological needs first. As the situation evolves with new information from your local and state officials, go back to these questions in Maslow’s Hierarchy first:
- Do my child and family have an adequate way to stay physically safe from contracting COVID-19?
- Are my child and family able to comply with current government recommendations for shelter-in-place?
- How is my child successfully meeting the basic needs of food, water, and daily living supplies?
- Do I need help in meeting these basic physiological needs because of self-isolation or quarantine restrictions? Where can I find help now or down the road?
- Is there a plan in place to continue meeting my child’s physiological needs if I become ill?
If there are difficulties in answering any of these questions, these should be the primary focus for a parent. Until these basic needs are met, it’s unlikely that any attempts to achieve higher-level needs will be successful–nor should they be a priority. For example, if your child’s living situation has changed as a result of COVID-19, it’s not likely that any attempts to resume a vocational program are likely to be successful until stable housing has been identified.
Likewise, if your child’s medical needs put them at high risk for spending time in the community, you’ll need to revise plans. Immediate decisions should focus on strategies to ensure that supplies like food and hygiene products can be delivered or if additional caregiving resources are required.
Second, review safety needs.
Similar to meeting physiological needs, many parents may need to focus their attention on meeting basic safety needs. Parents should examine safety needs by working to answer these types of questions:
- Do my child and family have an adequate way to stay physically safe from contracting COVID-19?
- Does my child fully understand and obey safety procedures like proper handwashing, wearing protective equipment, and practicing social distancing?
- How am I meeting my child and my family’s need for financial security at this time?
- What are the impacts of COVID-19 on my employment or my child’s employment?
- Do I need help in meeting these basic safety needs because of self-isolation or quarantine restrictions? Where can I find help now or down the road?
It’s okay to set aside other goals to temporarily focus on teaching safety measures like hand washing and how to safely wear a mask. It might be the only choice to help protect your child and family from infection. Modeling social distancing and other safety measures becomes increasingly important.
Unfortunately, issues of financial security have also added to the stressors facing families right now. Overnight many families found themselves in uncharted financial waters with uncertainty about employment and housing among the issues. It’s okay to set aside goals and other priorities to focus on economic issues, including accessing government programs to support individuals with disabilities. As soon as possible, begin developing contingency plans in the event your family faces financial insecurity as a result of COVID-19.
Next, review love and belonging needs.
If your family is fortunate enough to be meeting basic physiological and safety needs during the initial weeks of the pandemic, Maslow’s Hierarchy suggests you may also need to examine the need for love and belonging. These needs become even more critical when practicing social distancing and isolation during the pandemic. Parents should consider these types of questions for their child:
- In what ways can I protect my child’s emotional health, by providing structure and routine in this challenging time?
- How can I help my child stay connected to others while practicing social distancing?
- Do I need extra help from family members, friends, or the community because of self-isolation or quarantine restrictions? Where can I find help now or down the road?
According to Maslow’s theory, these needs only make sense to address after the basic human needs for safety and survival have been met. However, many families continue to struggle to find a balance between the desire to feel community and protecting against contracting the virus. It can be especially difficult for families who rely on broader supports like social groups, faith communities, or schools for a sense of community. Without those options, parents may need to strategies other ways to create a sense of community for their child.
A note about esteem needs and self-actualization during COVID-19
Maslow’s Hierarchy suggests that esteem and self-actualization are higher-order needs, meaning they only become relevant when all other requirements can be met. In times of high stress, like the current COVID-19 pandemic, parents may need to shift priorities to focus on different needs. Typically esteem needs concentrate on things like finding meaning and worth. If you are fortunate that your family’s basic needs are met, you might find ways for your child to practice kindness and give back to others. However, it’s also acceptable and appropriate to set aside goals related to your child’s personal fulfillment and developing a sense of meaning and worth to instead focus on lower-order needs. Self-actualization needs and goals should only become a priority when all of the other requirements have been met during a pandemic.
A Printable Pandemic Guide for Parents
If you found the information in this article helpful, download our free, useful “Pandemic Guide for Parents.” Use it to start the conversation with family members or share it with a friend who might also need the resource. Most importantly, add it to your toolbox to continue reminding yourself that at any time during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s okay to step back and re-evaluate what’s most important for you and your family. Just enter your email below and it will be delivered directly to your inbox.
Further Reading
- Autistic Hierarchy of Needs: A guide for working therapeutically with autistic adults
- Pandemic Social Stories Direct Access by Carol Gray
- Corona Viewed from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – Psychologytoday.com
- Kreuger, L., Van Exel, J., & Nieboer, A. (2008). Needs of persons with severe intellectual disabilities: a Q‐methodological study of clients with severe behavioural disorders and severe intellectual disabilities. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 21(5), 466-476.
- Life Skills Advocate Blog – 14 Ways to Help Your Child Take Hand Washing Seriously
- Maslow, A. (1954). Motivation and Personality. New York: Harper Collins.