Mattering as a Unique Resilience Factor in Chinese Children: A Comparative Analysis of Predictors of Depression

Abstract

Objectives: The current research sought to establish the protective roles of individual difference factors associated with a positive self-orientation and also evaluate the role of personality vulnerability factors as predictors of depression in children from China. The main focus was on individual differences in feelings of mattering to other people. Methods: A sample of 218 children in grade 5 classes in China completed a battery of measures that includes the General Mattering Scale as well as measures of self-esteem, unconditional self-acceptance, self-criticism, dependency, and depression. Results: Analyses established that lower levels of depression were typically found among children who had elevated levels of mattering, self-esteem, and unconditional selfacceptance, and lower levels of self-criticism and dependency. The results of a regression analysis established that unique variance in depression was predicted by mattering, selfesteem, unconditional self-acceptance, and dependency. Conclusion and Implications: These findings illustrate the protective role of mattering among children in China and suggest that mattering versus not mattering is a unique “double-edged” factor that can promote resilience for the child with a sense of mattering but can be a source of vulnerability for the child who has a diminished sense of mattering to others.