The interplay between university students' needs, maturity levels (personal, familial, and social), and life satisfaction

Abstract

It is essential for young Turkish individuals (university students) to rapidly develop their skills and abilities to take on leadership roles in society. To become well-equipped individuals who contribute to societal welfare and development, these young adults must undergo a healthy adolescent maturity process. Therefore, providing a supportive environment for Turkish adolescents during their maturation is crucial. This study investigates how fulfilling all hierarchical needs (PSN, LBN, ESAN) affects Turkish adolescents' life satisfaction (LS) and their personal (PM), familial (FM), and social (SM) maturity levels. The study sample consists of 397 Turkish university students. The proposed research model was tested using PLS-SEM analysis. The findings indicate that fulfilling all hierarchical needs positively affects life satisfaction. Additionally, life satisfaction serves as a mediator between the fulfillment of hierarchical needs and maturity levels. However, the most fundamental physical and security needs are not adequately met, hindering personal maturity. Furthermore, love and belonging needs and esteem and self-actualization needs positively impact all maturity levels.

Keywords

• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
• Life satisfaction
• Adolescent maturity
• Turkish adolescents

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