Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs |
Why is Belonging important? Belongingness is the need to have a loving relationship with all others and is an intrinsic need that all humans seek out. Having a sense of belonging is essential to our well-being; if this need is not satisfied one might feel isolated or unloved. Most importantly, if belongingness needs are not satisfied, there is a less chance of esteem needs being satisfied (Taormina & Gao, 2013). This is because one will not have a group to receive positive regard or respect from, thus will potentially inhibit the development of esteem for oneself and from others.
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Factors that contribute to belongingness
Researchers Taormina and Gao (2013) conducted a study that examined the relationship between family emotional support, traditional values, and belongingness. Results illustrated family emotional support and traditional values to be positively correlated to the belongingness. That is, the more one acquired family support and traditional values, the more their belongingness needs were satisfied. Moreover, results showed belongingness and traditional values to be positively correlated to the esteem need. In other words, the more ones belongingness needs were satisfied and the more traditional values one held, the more their esteem needs were satisfied. These findings highlight the significance in satisfying one's belongingness needs in order to satisfy other needs. In addition, the findings help demonstrate how one can potentially satisfy their belongingness needs.