Children’s Rights and Maslow’s
hierarchy of basic needs
Mats Granlund
“Children with Disability: Focus on Human Rights and Intervention”
A two day seminar at CAAC, University of Pretoria 2013.01.310201
Why is this interesting?
Most studies of children’s deprivation of rights in low income settings focus on:
• Physiological needs  implies that because of being a hierarchy children do
not experience higher needs unless basic needs are fullfilled
• Have care providers as respondents  implies that children can’t talk for themselves
and that care providers can provide reliable ratings on all kinds of needs
• Focus on children without impairments  implies that children with impairments
have lower status and can’t talk for themselves
Principles of rights
(From Simeonsson, 2008)
• Beneficience: Child is provided what is good
for self and development
• Non-maleficience: Child is protected from
harm
• Social justice: Child experiences equal
treatment
• Integrity: Child recognized and respected as
person
• Autonomy: Child’s independence and control
over life
UN Convention on the rights of the child
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Integrity a person:
Inherent right to life/survival:
Identity
Family environment:
Right to be heard
Protect from exploitation:
Protection in institutional care:
Education
Highest allowable health
Articles 1-3
Article 6
Articles 7-8
Article 9, 18
Article 12,13
Articles 19, 32 34
Article 20, 25
Article 22
Article 24
Deprivation of rights
(from Simeonsson, 2008)
– Deprivation of rights :
• Constraint, limitation or barrier in child’s
access to or encounters with physical,
social or psychological environment
essential to their growth and development
• Constraint, limitation or barrier of child’s
opportunities to participate in major life
roles
What is a need
Problem = The difference between the current situation and a desired situation
Need = A resource or tool necessary to solve a perceived problem
By providing what is needed a problem can be solved
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Basic assumption: People progress from a secure base of basic need satisfaction
to satisfy ”higher” needs
Self-actualization
Growth needs
Self transcendence
Esteem
Belongingness and love
Safety needs
Physiological needs
Deficiency needs
Relating children’s rights to needs
Children’s rights
Hierarchy of needs
Constraint, limitation or
barrier in child’s access to or
encounters with physical,
social or psychological
environment essential to their
growth and development
Physiological needs, safety
needs,belongingness and love,
esteem = deprivational needs
Constraint, limitation or
Self-actualization, selfbarrier of child’s opportunities transendence = growth needs
to participate in major life
roles
Questions asked:
Practical questions:
Can children provide valid and reliable responses?
Are care providers proxy ratings reliable for all kinds of needs?
Theoretical questions?
Is there a hierarchy of needs?
How many types of needs are there?
Questionnaire items categorized
according to needs
1. Do you have water to drink at home?
2. Do you have food to eat at home?
3. Do you have medicine at home when you need it?
4. Do you have a place to sleep at home?
5. Do you have toys to play with at home?
6. Do you have a wheelchair or walking aid to help you move around?
Physiological
Physiological
Physiological
Physiological
Physiological
Physiological
7. Do you have something like a communicat. board to help you talk at home?
8. Do you like it when people get angry with you
9. Do you have glasses to help you see at home?
10. Do you have a hearing aid to help you hear at home?
11. If you are confused, do you have someone to expl. things to you at home?
Safety
Safety
Safety
Safety
12. Is there someone who cares about you at home?
13. Do you have friends to play with at home?
Love and belonging
Love and belonging
14. Do you have your own books to work in at school?
Belonging/ self esteem
Percentage number of children and parents who choose
the same answer
Question
%
N
Maslow
Do you have clean water to drink at home?
82.7%
214
Physiological
Do you have food to eat at home?
76.8%
211
Physiological
Do you have your own bed to sleep in at home?
67.8%
211
Physiological
Do you have something like a walking aid or
wheel chair to help you move around at home?
80.8%
26
Physiological
211
Physiological
Do you have things to play with at home?
49.8%
Mean 71,58
Question
%
N
Maslow
Do you have something like glasses to help you 52.9%
see at home?
17
Safety needs
Do you have someone or something to help
you understand instructions when you are at
home?
44.1%
34
Safety needs
Do you have something like a communication
board to help you speak when you are at
home?
44.4%
17
Safety needs
Is there someone who cares for you and
protects you?
77.5%
213
Love and
belonging
Do you have friends to play with at home?
51.2%
213
Love and
belonging
How many types of needs are there?
Rotated Component Matrixa
Component
1
2
3
Do you have clean water (ph)?
-,117
,862
,064
Do you have food (ph)?
-,023
,524
-,368
When you are sick, do you have medicine (ph)?
,711
-,316
,025
Do you have your own bed (ph)?
,499
,639
,345
Do you have things to play with (ph)?
,328
,388
,345
Do you have a wheelchair or walking aid (ph)?
,867
,093
-,036
When you are confused, is there someone to help expl. (saf)? ,485
-,172
,437
Is there someone who cares for you and protects you (l&b))?
,803
,351
,048
Do you have friends to play with (l&b)?
560
,099
,667
At school, do you have your own books to work in (l,b& s)?
-,189
,051
,877
Number of studies out of 365 where children participated in the research process