Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a Framework for Understanding Adolescent Depressive Symptoms Over Time

• Published in: Journal of child and family studies 2020-02, Vol.29 (2), p.273-281
• Main Authors: Crandall, AliceAnn, Powell, Elizabeth A., Bradford, Grace C., Magnusson, Brianna M., Hanson, Carl L., Barnes, Michael D., Novilla, M. Lelinneth B., Bean, Roy A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent girls; Adolescents; Adversity; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Child and School Psychology; Child psychopathology; Connectedness; Depression, Mental; Economic stress; Family (Sociological Unit); Locus of control; Mental depression; Neighborhoods; Original Paper; Parent-child relations; Parents; Physical symptoms; Psychological aspects; Psychology; Questionnaires; Sensitivity analysis; Social Sciences; Sociology; Stress; Structural equation modeling; Symptoms; Teenagers
• ISSN: 1062-1024; 1573-2843
• DOI: 10.1007/s10826-019-01577-4

Objectives Worldwide, depression is one of the most common medical disorders in adolescence. Adolescent depressive symptoms generally increase over time, but many experience decreases after an initial peak. The purpose of this paper was to examine ecological predictors of baseline and change in adolescent depressive symptoms using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a framework. Methods Adolescents ( n  = 500; 52% female; baseline age 10–13 years) and their parents living in the northwestern United States completed annual questionnaires over six years. A structural equation model growth curve analysis was conducted to examine how family stressors, neighborhood safety, parent-child connectedness, and youth locus of control predicted adolescent depressive symptoms (baseline and growth). Results Results demonstrated that adolescent locus of control was associated with lower baseline depressive symptoms ( β  = −0.27, p