The perception of mattering, worthiness, and being meaningful for others is a fundamental condition for the human being. During young adulthood, mattering is particularly significant for the identity consolidation and well-being. This study aims to investigate the effect of relationships with parents on multidimensional well-being of young adults, mediated by mattering. A total of 1249 young Italian adults (age range 18–35) were involved, filling an online questionnaire. Data were analyzed with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results showed that maternal support has a significant direct relationship just with interpersonal well-being, while paternal support with community well-being. Only through the mediation of mattering, both maternal and parental supports have a positive effect on all the well-being dimensions. The results suggest the importance of promoting a sense of mattering in significant interpersonal contexts for young adults to guarantee their well-being when they are involved in facing demanding challenges that the transition to adulthood requires.
AbidinF. A.YudianaW.FadilahS. H. (2022). Parenting style and emotional well-being among adolescents: The role of basic psychological needs satisfaction and frustration. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 901646. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.901646.
2.
AgueliB.CelardoG.EspositoC.ArcidiaconoC.ProcenteseF.CarboneA.Di NapoliI. (2022). Well-Being of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Youth: The influence of rural and urban contexts on the process of building identity and disclosure. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 787211. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.787211.
3.
AloiaL. S. (2022). The influence of family relationship schemas, parental support, and parental verbal aggression on mental well-being. Journal of Family Studies, 28(1), 294–307. https://doi.org/10.1080/13229400.2019.1702578
4.
AmatoP. R. (1994). Father-child relations, mother-child relations, and offspring psychological well-being in early adulthood. Journal of Marriage and Family, 56(4), 1031–1042. https://doi.org/10.2307/353611
5.
ArcidiaconoC.GrimaldiD.Di MartinoS.ProcenteseF. (2016). Participatory visual methods in the ‘Psychology loves Porta Capuana’ project. Action Research, 14(4), 376–392. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476750315626502
6.
ArnettJ. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066X.55.5.469
7.
BaskervilleD. (2021). Mattering; changing the narrative in secondary schools for youth who truant. Journal of Youth Studies, 24(6), 834–849. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2020.1772962
8.
ChenY.HainesJ.CharltonB. M.VanderWeeleT. J. (2019). Positive parenting improves multiple aspects of health and well-being in young adulthood. Nature Human Behaviour, 3(7), 684–691. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-019-0602-x
9.
CollinsW. A.LaursenB. (2004). Parent-adolescent relationships and influence. In LernerR.SteinbergL. (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (pp. 331–362). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780471726746.ch11
10.
CollinsW. A.MadsenS. D. (2006). Relationships in adolescence and young adulthood. In PerlmanD.VangelistiA. (Eds.), Handbook of personal relationships (pp. 191–209): Cambridge University Press.
11.
CouperM. P. (2000). Usability evaluation of computer-assisted survey instruments. Social Science Computer Review, 18(4), 384–396. https://doi.org/10.1177/089443930001800402
DeForgeB. R.BarclayD. M.III (1997). The internal reliability of a general mattering scale in homeless men. Psychological Reports, 80(2), 429–430. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1997.80.2.429
14.
Di MartinoS.Di NapoliI.EspositoC.PrilleltenskyI.ArcidiaconoC. (2018). Measuring subjective well-being from a multidimensional and temporal perspective: Italian adaptation of the I COPPE scale. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 16(1), 88. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-018-0916-9
15.
Di NapoliI.Di MartinoS.AgueliB.ArcidiaconoC.EspositoC. (2022). Psychological and overall well‐being of Italian young adults in transition to adulthood: Evidence from a sequential explanatory mixed‐methods study. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 33(1), 152–173. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2647.
16.
Di NapoliI.Di MartinoS.ArcidiaconoC.PrilleltenskyI.EspositoC. (2023). Multidimensional and temporal mattering: The Italian adaptation Of the Mattering in Domains of Life Scale. TPM: Testing, Psychometrics, Methodology in Applied Psychology, 30(3), 333–348. https://doi.org/10.4473/TPM30.3.6
17.
DixonA. L.ScheideggerC.McWhirterJ. J. (2009). The adolescent mattering experience: Gender variations in perceived mattering, anxiety, and depression. Journal of Counseling and Development, 87(3), 302–310. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2009.tb00111.x
18.
DuttonJ. E.DebebeG.WrzesniewskiA. (2016). Being valued and devalued at work: A social valuing perspective. In BechkyB. A.ElsbachK. D. (Eds.), Qualitative organizational research: Best papers from the Davis conference on qualitative research (pp. 9–51). Information Age Publishing.
19.
ElliottG. C. (2009). Family matters: The importance of mattering to family in adolescence. Wiley-Blackwell.
20.
ElliottG. C.CunninghamS. M.ColangeloM.GellesR. J. (2011). Perceived mattering to the family and physical violence within the family by adolescents. Journal of Family Issues, 32(8), 1007–1029. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513x11398932
21.
ElliottG. C.KaoS.GrantA. M. (2004). Mattering: Empirical validation of a social‐psychological concept. Self and Identity, 3(4), 339–354. https://doi.org/10.1080/13576500444000119
22.
EriksonE. H. (1968). Identity, youth, and crisis. Norton.
23.
EspositoC.Di NapoliI.Di MartinoS.PrilleltenskyI.ArcidiaconoC. (2021). The I COPPE Scale Short-Form for measuring multidimensional well-being: Construct validity and reliability from US, Argentinian, and Italian large samples. Journal of Community Psychology, 50(2), 696–711. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22659
24.
FazioE. M.NguyenK. B. (2014). Stress, mattering, and health. In MarieF. E.Nguyen KimB. (Ed.), The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Health, Illness, Behavior, and Society, pp. 2312–2317. John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.
25.
FergusonL.J.GunnellK.E. (2016). Eudaimonic Well-being: A Gendered Perspective. In VittersøJ. (Ed.), Handbook of Eudaimonic Well-Being. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42445-3_28
26.
FlettG. (2018). The psychology of mattering: Understanding the human need to be significant. Academic Press.
27.
FlettG.KhanA.SuC. (2019). Mattering and psychological well-being in college and university students: Review and recommendations for campus-based initiatives. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 17(3), 667–680. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-019-00073-6
28.
FlettG. L.BurdoR.NeponT. (2021). Mattering, insecure attachment, rumination, and self-criticism in distress among university students. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 19(4), 1300–1313. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00225-z
29.
FlettG. L.GoldsteinA. L.PechenkovI. G.NeponT.WekerleC. (2016). Antecedents, correlates, and consequences of feeling like you don’t matter: Associations with maltreatment, loneliness, social anxiety, and the five‐factor model. Personality and Individual Differences, 92(100), 52–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.12.014.
30.
FlettG. L.NeponT.GoldbergJ. O.RoseA. L.AtkeyS. K.Zaki-AzatJ. (2022). The Anti-Mattering Scale: Development, psychometric properties and associations with well-being and distress measures in adolescents and emerging adults. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 40(1), 37–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/07342829211050544
FurmanW.BuhrmesterD. (2009). The network of relationships inventory: Behavioral systems version. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 33(5), 470–478. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025409342634
33.
GeorgeL. S.ParkC. L. (2014). Existential mattering: Bringing attention to a neglected but central aspect of meaning? In Meaning in positive and existential psychology (pp. 39–51). Springer.
34.
GoldsteinR. (2015). Plato at the googleplex: Why philosophy won't go away (Reprint ed.). Vintage.
35.
GoodmanJ.SchlossbergN. K.AndersonM. L. (2006). Counseling adults in transition: Linking practice with theory (3rd ed.). Springer.
36.
GuarnieriS.TaniF. (2011). Uno strumento per lo studio delle reti sociali: Adattamento italiano del network of relationships inventory [A measure for the study of social networks: The Italian adaptation of the network of relationships inventory]. Giornale di Psicologia dello Sviluppo, 98, 7–23.
37.
HuL. T.BentlerP. M. (1999). Cut off criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
38.
HumphreyA.BliucA. M.MolenberghsP. (2019). The social contract revisited: A re-examination of the influence individualistic and collectivistic value systems have on the psychological wellbeing of young people. Journal of Youth Studies, 23(2), 160–169. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2019.1590541
39.
IsaacsonM. L. (2008). Mattering and persistence relative to a first-year seminar for residential students at a Great Plains university. UMI dissertations. University of South Dakota.
40.
JosselsonR. (1994). Identity and relatedness in the life cycle. In BosmaH. A.GraafsmaT. L. G.GrotevantH. D.de LevitaD. J. (Eds.), Identity and development: An interdisciplinary approach (pp. 81–102). Sage.
41.
JungA. K.HeppnerM. J. (2017). Development and validation of a work mattering scale (WMS). Journal of Career Assessment, 25(3), 467–483. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072715599412
42.
KlineR. B. (2016). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (4th ed.). Guilford publications.
43.
KoestnerR.PowersT. A.HoldingA.HopeN.MilyavskayaM. (2020). The relation of parental support of emerging adults' goals to well-being over time: The mediating roles of goal progress and autonomy need satisfaction. Motivation Science, 6(4), 374–385. https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000169
44.
KrygsmanA.FarrellA. H.BrittainH.VaillancourtT. (2022). Depression symptoms, mattering, and anti-mattering: Longitudinal associations in young adulthood. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 40(1), 77–94. https://doi.org/10.1177/07342829211050519
45.
LernerJ. V.PhelpsE.FormanY.BowersE. P. (2009). Positive youth development. In LernerR. M.SteinbergL. (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology: Individual bases of adolescent development (pp. 524–558). John Wiley & Sons Inc.
LopezF. G.MelendezM. C.RiceK. G. (2000). Parental divorce, parent–child bonds, and adult attachment orientations among college students: A comparison of three racial/ethnic groups. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 47(2), 177–186. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-0167.47.2.177
48.
LusardiA.MitchellO. S. (2008). Planning and financial literacy: How do women fare?The American Economic Review, 98(2), 413–417. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.98.2.413
49.
MakL.MarshallS. K. (2004). Perceived mattering in young adults' romantic relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 21(4), 469–486. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407504044842
50.
MannariniT.ProcenteseF.GattiF.RochiraA.FediA.TartagliaS. (2021). Basic human values and sense of community as resource and responsibility. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 31(2), 123–141. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2498
51.
MarshallS. K. (2001). Do I matter? Construct validation of adolescents' perceived mattering to parents and friends. Journal of Adolescence, 24(4), 473–490. https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.2001.0384
52.
MarshallS. K. (2004). Relative contributions of perceived mattering to parents and friends in predicting adolescents' psychological well-being. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 99(2), 591–601. https://doi.org/10.2466/pms.99.2.591-601
53.
MarshallS. K.LiuY.WuA.BerzonskyM.AdamsG. R. (2010). Perceived mattering to parents and friends for university students: A longitudinal study. Journal of Adolescence, 33(3), 367–375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.09.003
54.
MateraC.BoscoN.MeringoloP. (2019). Perceived mattering to family and friends, self-esteem, and well-being. Psychology Health & Medicine, 25(5), 550–558. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2019.1626454
55.
MatudM. P.López-CurbeloM.FortesD. (2019). Gender and psychological well-being. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(19), 3531. MDPI AG. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16193531
56.
McMillanD. W.LorionR. P. (2020). Sense of community, pathway to, or bridge from alienation?Journal of Community Psychology, 48(6), 1706–1714. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22406
57.
MortimerJ. T. (2012). Transition to adulthood, parental support, and early adult well-being: Recent findings from the youth development study. In BoothA.BrownS.LandaleN.ManningW.McHaleS. (Eds.), Early adulthood in a family context. National symposium on family issues (vol 2). Springer.
58.
NaranjoD. M. (2009). Harsh parenting: The mediating effects of mattering to parents on adolescent outcomes. Arizona State University.
59.
PreacherK. J.HayesA. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40(3), 879–891. https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.40.3.879
60.
PrilleltenskyI. (2014). Meaning-making, mattering, and thriving in community psychology: From co-optation to amelioration and transformation. Psychosocial Intervention, 23(2), 151–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psi.2014.07.008
61.
PrilleltenskyI. (2020). Mattering at the intersection of psychology, philosophy, and politics. American Journal of Community Psychology, 65(1-2), 16–34. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12368
62.
PrilleltenskyI.DietzS.PrilleltenskyO.MyersN. D.RubensteinC. L.JinY.McMahonA. (2015). Assessing multidimensional well‐being: Development and validation of the I COPPE scale. Journal of Community Psychology, 43(2), 199–226. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21674
63.
PrilleltenskyI.PrilleltenskyO. (2021). How people matter: Why it affects health, happiness, love work, and society. Cambridge University Press.
64.
ProcenteseF.GattiF. (2021). Sense of responsible togetherness, sense of community, and civic engagement behaviors: Disentangling an active and engaged citizenship. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 32(2), 186–197. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2566
65.
RaykovT. (1997). Estimation of composite reliability for congeneric measures. Applied Psychological Measurement, 21(2), 173–184. https://doi.org/10.1177/01466216970212006
RayleA. D.ChungK. Y. (2007). Revisiting first-year college students' mattering: Social support, academic stress, and the mattering experience. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 9(1), 21–37. https://doi.org/10.2190/x126-5606-4g36-8132
69.
RayleA. D.MyersJ. E. (2004). Counseling adolescents towards wellness: The roles of ethnic identity, acculturation, and mattering. Professional School Counseling, 8(1), 81–90. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42732418
70.
ReeceA.YadenD.KellermanG.RobichauxA.GoldsteinR.SchwartzB.SeligmanM.BaumeisterR.BaumeisterR. (2021). Mattering is an indicator of organizational health and employee success. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 16(2), 228–248. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2019.1689416
71.
RobertsR. E.BengtsonV. L. (1993). Relationships with parents, self-esteem, and psychological well-being in young adulthood. Social Psychology Quarterly, 56(4), 263–277. https://doi.org/10.2307/2786663
72.
RosenbergM. (1985). Self-concept and psychological well-being in adolescence. In LeahyR. (Ed.), The development of the self (pp. 205–246). Academic Press.
73.
RosenbergM.McCulloughB. C. (1981). Mattering: Inferred significance and mental health among adolescents. Research in Community Mental Health, 2, 163–182.
74.
RubensteinC. L.DuffJ.PrilleltenskyI.JinY.DietzS.MyersN. D.PrilleltenskyO. (2016). Demographic group differences in domain‐specific well‐being. Journal of Community Psychology, 44(4), 499–515. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21784
75.
ScarpaM. P.ZopluogluC.PrilleltenskyI. (2021). Assessing multidimensional mattering: Development and exploratory validation of the mattering in domains of life scale (MIDLS). Journal of Community Psychology, 50(3), 1430–1453. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22725
76.
ScheierL.BotvinG. (1997). Psychosocial correlates of affective distress: Latent-variable models of male and female adolescents in a community sample. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 26(1), 89–115. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024544329855
77.
SchenckC. E.BraverS. L.WolchikS. A.SaenzD.CookstonJ. T.FabriciusW. V. (2009). Relations between mattering to step -and non-residential fathers and adolescent mental health. Fathering, 7(1), 70–90. https://doi.org/10.3149/fth.0701.70
SchoeniR. F.RossK. E. (2005). Material assistance from families during the transition to adulthood. In SetterstenR. A.Jr.FurstenbergF. F.Jr.RumbautR. G. (Eds.), On the frontier of adulthood: Theory, research, and public policy (pp. 396–416). University of Chicago Press.
80.
SemyonovM.Lewin-EpsteinN. (2001). The impact of parental transfers on living standards of married children. Social Indicators Research, 54(2), 115–137. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011081529592
81.
StanfieldL. (2018). Mattering: Foundations for flourishing lives. Claremont Project.
82.
StevensonM. M.FabriciusW. V.CookstonJ. T.ParkeR. D.ColtraneS.BraverS. L.SaenzD. S. (2014). Marital problems, maternal gatekeeping attitudes, and father–child relationships in adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 50(4), 1208–1218. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035327
83.
StoneA. A.SchwartzJ. E.BroderickJ. E.DeatonA. (2010). A snapshot of the age distribution of psychological well-being in the United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 107(22), 9985–9990. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1003744107
84.
SuhG. W.FabriciusW. V.StevensonM. M.ParkeR. D.CookstonJ. T.BraverS. L.SaenzD. S. (2016). Effects of the interparental relationship on adolescents' emotional security and adjustment: The important role of fathers. Developmental Psychology, 52(10), 1666–1678. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000204
85.
TaniguchiH. (2015). Interpersonal mattering in friendship as a predictor of happiness in Japan: The case of Tokyoites. Journal of Happiness Studies, 16(6), 1475–1491. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-014-9570-z
86.
van WelF.LinssenH.AbmaR. (2000). The parental bond and the well-being of adolescents and young adults. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29(3), 307–318. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005195624757
87.
VélezC. E.BraverS. L.CookstonJ. T.FabriciusW. V.ParkeR. D. (2020). Does mattering to parents matter to adolescent mental health? A psychometric analysis. Family Relations, 69(1), 180–194. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12396
88.
VideonT. M. (2005). Parent-child relations and children's psychological well-being: Do dads matter?Journal of Family Issues, 26(1), 55–78. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513x04270262
89.
WintreM. G.YaffeM. (2000). First-year students’ adjustment to university life as a function of relationships with parents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 15(1), 9–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558400151002
WuN. H.KimS. Y. (2009). Chinese American adolescents' perceptions of the language brokering experience as a sense of burden and sense of efficacy. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(5), 703–718. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-008-9379-3
92.
YounissJ.SmollarJ. (1985). Adolescent relations with mothers, fathers and friends. University of Chicago Press.
