Three distinct presentations address various aspects of mental health and well-being in educational and professional contexts. The first study, conducted at Auckland University of Technology, investigated the relationships between students' sense of mattering and their mental well-being, motivation, and academic performance during transitions like moving from online to in-person learning. Surveying 150 undergraduate students, the study found that a strong sense of mattering positively impacted mental well-being and academic performance by reducing anxiety and failure avoidance. Notably, Māori students reported higher levels of mattering and well-being compared to other groups. The second presentation focuses on vicarious trauma (VT) and compassion fatigue (CF) among helping professionals exacerbated by the pandemic. Drawing on extensive research and professional experience, it debunks myths about VT and CF, offering alternative strategies beyond conventional self-care practices to better equip aspiring professionals. The third assesses the mental health and adaptability of students during abrupt transitions to online learning. It examines associations among mattering, depression, anxiety, burnout, and positive functioning indicators like hope and adaptability, highlighting the importance of addressing student well-being.
Dr. Anja Vorster, PhD
Dr Anja Vorster is a lecturer and data analyst/manager within the School of Public Health and Interdisciplinary Studies. She also maintains a role within the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, placed in the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences where she initiates and collaborates on diverse projects at AUT, nationally and internationally. Her work primarily revolves around research projects in the space of social and health sciences. Currently, Anja is working on research that involves topics ranging from community health to the intricacies of human behaviour. Beyond her research endeavours, Anja is a resource for postgraduate students and fellow academics, offering valuable guidance and expertise. Having earned her PhD in Social Psychology in early 2021, her scholarly pursuits have delved into understanding human behaviour and emotional responses. Anja's doctoral thesis explored the profound impacts of vicarious humiliating events on individuals and social groups, focusing on their emotional responses and subsequent behavioural intentions.
Abstract: Objective: The study conducted at Auckland University of Technology investigated the relationships between the psychological construct of mattering and various student-related constructs such as mental wellbeing, motivation, and self-reported academic performance, within significant changes such as entering tertiary education for the first time, the shift from online to in-person learning, and increased direct social interactions.
Methods: Using 150 undergraduate students, we conducted a cross-sectional survey where students were asked about changes that they have faced in recent years. We measured their sense of mattering, mental well-being, motivation, self-reported academic performance, and their perceived social support structures.
Results: Findings revealed a significant interaction between students' sense of mattering and their perceived social support, with a significant impact on their mental wellbeing. The relationship between mattering and wellbeing was stronger among those with higher levels of social support. Furthermore, mattering indirectly affected self-reported academic performance through its influence on students' motivation, specifically impacting impeding cognitions such as anxiety and failure avoidance. An increased sense of mattering reduced these negative thoughts, which in turn enhanced self-reported academic success. Ethnic differences were also apparent; Māori students reported higher levels of mattering and wellbeing compared to other groups, with Pacific Peoples reporting the lowest.
Conclusion: This study not only highlights the importance of mattering on students’ motivation and mental wellbeing, but also stresses the critical role of social support structures in supporting students' sense of mattering during transitions in educational settings.
Dr. Kathryn Mettler, PhD
Kathryn Mettler brings over two decades of professional experience within social services and community-based healthcare sectors. She has worked both in Canada and abroad, holding influential senior leadership roles in the areas of family and domestic violence, homelessness and social housing, and mental health and addictions services. Presently, Kathryn serves as a Professor and Program Coordinator for the Mental Health and Addictions Graduate Certificate program at Humber College. Beyond academia, Kathryn extends her expertise through conducting professional development workshops and training sessions across North America. Her focus lies primarily in trauma- and violence-informed care, with a specialized emphasis on sustainable supervisory practices and incident debriefing methodologies to mitigate vicarious trauma and burn out. Kathryn holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, a Master's degree in Social Work, and is in the final stages of defending her Doctoral thesis. This research centers nuanced understandings of vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic stress (compassion fatigue) amongst mental health professionals, to identify effective strategies to empower professionals facing these issues.
Abstract: t is well-documented that those in helping professions are susceptible to vicarious trauma (VT) and compassion fatigue (CF), both of which present significant concerns to their wellbeing, and can lead to burn out. As educators, it is incumbent upon us to equip aspiring professionals with the requisite knowledge and skills to navigate these challenges effectively. While “self-care” practices are often promoted, research has shown these to be inconsistently effective, and inaccessible to many. The pandemic exacerbated many of the challenges experienced by front-line essential workers, leading to a notable exodus from these professions due to burn out and stress. How can we, as educators, prepare those moving into these roles, to ensure they don’t suffer a similar fate?
To answer this question, we need to look at exactly what we are talking about when we discuss VT & CF: what specifically leads to these experiences? How have we come to understand these problems? And how might a more nuanced understanding of these issues lead us to more effective approaches to address them?
Drawing from over two decades of practice as a mental health professional, the insights gleaned from my doctoral research titled “Examining assumptions surrounding vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic stress: Amplifying the voices of mental health professionals”, and my tenure as an educator, and the Program Coordinator of Humber’s Mental Health and Addictions (ADMH) Graduate Certificate, this presentation will dismantle prevalent myths and misconceptions about VT & CF. Through the dissemination of my research findings, and my work with students in the ADMH program, I aim to highlight alternative strategies beyond conventional "self-care" practices, both for seasoned practitioners and aspiring professionals. By fostering a deeper understanding of these issues, my presentation endeavors to empower those within the helping professions to assert greater agency and self-determination over their professional experiences.
Dr. Masood Zangeneh, PhD
Dr. Masood Zangeneh is Professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Innovative Learning, Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning. He is Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction (Springer Publications) and is a consultant to numerous scientific journals and universities for interdisciplinary, multi-cultural research and development addressing mental health, addiction and resilience among marginalized populations. Dr. Zangeneh has led numerous international collaborative programs and research initiatives; and, he has served as the Ben Gurion University (BGU) – Regional Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research (RADAR) Center Visiting Professor addressing multi-ethnic youth resilience through research, training, education and publication.
Abstract Panel 3A: To assess the mental health and well-being of students and investigate the associations among adaptability to the pandemic (or other emergency related situations), mattering, and levels of learning experiences among college and university students required to adapt to an abrupt transition to synchronous online learning. To that end, we will measure depression and related forms of distress (defeat, entrapment), anxiety, burnout but also key indicators of positive functioning (mattering, hope, adaptability) from the view that well-being is not just the presence of the negative but also the absence of the positive functioning.
Abstract Panel 5 (for Mahamid and Flett as well): The current panel discussion by Gordon Flett and Masood Zangeneh as well as Fayez Mahamid (An-Najah National University) will contrast the protective role of being made to feel important in the eyes of other people versus the destructiveness inherent in being made to feel unimportant. Mattering is fundamental to health, well-being, and psychological growth because it is a core psychological need that is universal in scope. Ryan and Deci (2017) emphasized the need to matter as part of their analysis of core psychological needs. They proposed that:
"… one of the primary goals of behavior is the feeling of belonging and of being significant or mattering in the eyes of others. There is a basic need to feel responded to, respected, and important to others, and, conversely, to avoid rejection, insignificance, and disconnectedness, a fact that applies not just to humans but other primates as well ” (p. 96).
Mattering is related to but distinguishable from belongingness because it is focused more on having significance and importance rather than fitting in with others.
Mattering has been described as a double-edged construct (see Flett, 2018, 2022). It is highly protective when a person feels a sense of mattering; it is vital in maintaining life satisfaction. However, it is highly problematic when someone feels that she or he matters little or not at all to other people. Research with the Anti-Mattering Scale (Flett et al., 2022) has documented how feeling unseen, unheard, and unimportant can exact a huge toll on mental health and well-being among adolescents, university students, and adults from the general community.
The anti-mattering concept has its roots in the original work by Nancy Schlossberg (1989) on mattering versus marginalization. She stated in her seminal chapter that, “The polar themes of marginality and mattering connect all of us – rich and poor, young and old, male and female. Are we part of things; do we belong; are we central or marginal? “(p. 5). This sense of marginality and not mattering to others is particularly salient during transitions that can cause us to reflect on and begin to have feelings and fears of not mattering to others.
Mattering is a feeling that is highly resonant and has exceptional relevance to our times. Flett and Zangeneh (2020) demonstrated this relevance by examining how feelings of not mattering were highly salient and impactful during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will consider evidence summarized in Flett and Zangeneh (2020) illustrating the ways in which mattering was a key resource during this broad and unprecedented public health crisis. Many people during the pandemic felt expendable and either unvalued or devalued, while others were reminded of the comfort that comes from being connected to people who are about them.
Our panel discussion will address four main topics. First, we will describe mattering and its facets in detail and contrast it with feelings of not mattering. This discussion will include the facets of mattering proposed by Rosenberg and McCullough (1981): (1) feeling that other people are paying attention to us; (2) feeling that other people are taking an interest in us; and (3) feeling that others have come to depend on us. We will also highlight Prilleltensky’s (2020) key distinction between having value to others versus generating a sense of significance through adding value to others through such activities such as volunteering, mentoring, and coaching.
This description will include observations that illustrate why mattering matters (see Flett, 2022). Themes here include the power and modifiability of mattering and how it is a vital source of resilience and adaptability. Another key theme is the great capacity that mattering has for knowledge mobilization and implementation.
Second, evidence will be described which indicates that feelings of not mattering are far too prevalent among young people. Data from studies that focus on mattering in a general sense will be described which indicate that as many as 3 in 10 young people lack a feeling of mattering to others. These prevalence data will be discussed within the context of the growing epidemic of mental health problems among young people and an apparent epidemic of loneliness among people of various ages.
Third, the costs and consequences of feelings of not mattering will be revealed through an overview of published research and research in progress. A particular focus will be new research with the Anti-Mattering Scale. Research thus far has linked elevated levels of anti-mattering with consequential outcomes such as loneliness and suicidality. This component will include a description of new research that links anti-mattering with reported exposure to prejudice and discrimination in international students attending university in Canada. New research from a sample of almost 300 university students will be described; this research shows that feelings of not mattering are linked robustly with reported levels of ostracism. Moreover, anti-mattering and ostracism both predict anxiety, depression and unbearable psychache (i.e. psychological pain).
Finally, our discussion will extend the conclusions reached in the Flett and Zangeneh (2020) article. Specifically, we will examine the public health implications of promoting a sense of mattering. This analysis will include steps that can be taken by individuals, organizations, and governments to mobilize mattering as an essential resource for all people, but especially for those individuals who have felt marginalized and perhaps overlooked and forgotten.
Professor Audrene Kerr-Brown
Since 2004, Audrene has held the position of Professor within the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Humber College, where she continues to actively contribute to curriculum development and instruction in the fields of Psychology and Criminology. Concurrently, she is pursuing a PhD in Psychology, with her research focusing on the concept of mattering and its implications for self-handicapping, academic achievement and psychological well-being among college students.
Audrene will participate in the panel discussion on the dynamics of mattering and anti-mattering and their connections to the mental health and well-being of college students. The research presented will underscore the relationship between mattering and learning experiences, particularly in the context of adaptability to emergency situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated a swift transition to online learning. The primary aim of the discussion is to adopt a holistic approach to mental health and well-being, one that not only addresses the presence of negative psychological functioning, but also identifies and includes the notion of the absence of positive psychological functioning as a consequence of the mattering experience.
