The General Mattering Scale, the Anti-Mattering Scale, and the Fear of Not Mattering Inventory: Psychometric Properties and Links with Distress and Hope Among Chinese University Students

The global trend of advanced aging comes at the cost of amplified onset of age-related diseases. Dementia is a common multifactorial age-related neurodegenerative disorder, which manifests with progressive declines in cognitive functioning and ability to perform activities of daily living. As polices discourage institutionalized care, family members act as primary caregivers and endure increased vulnerability to physical and mental health problems secondary to care-related changes in life routine and relationships. Targeting clinically significant distress at earlier stages through valid brief measures may promote caregivers’ wellbeing and dementia care continuity/quality. This study aimed to determine the optimal cutoff score of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 8-items (DASS-8) in a convenience sample of 571 European caregivers (Mean age = 53 ± 12 years, Italian = 74.4%, Swiss = 25.6%) through three methods. K-means clustering classified the sample into high- and low-distress clusters based on DASS-8 score of 19. Receiver operator curve (ROC) analysis using 48 and 7 cutoffs of the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) and the Three-Item University of California, Los Angeles, Loneliness Scale-version 3 (UCLALS3), revealed two DASS-8 cutoffs (12.5 and 14.5, area under the curve (AUC) = 0.85 and 0.92, p values < .001, 95% CI 0.82–0.88 and 0.89 to 0.94, sensitivity = 0.81 and 0.78, specificity = 0.76 and 0.89, Youden index = 0.57 and 0.67, respectively). Decision modeling produced two DASS-8 cutoffs (9.5 and 14.5) for predicting low and high caregiving burden and loneliness, respectively. According to the median of all DASS-8 cutoffs (14.5) the prevalence of mental distress was 50.8%. Distress correlated with key mental problems such as burnout and loneliness—in path analysis, DASS-8 scores were predicted by the ZBI, UCLALS3, care dependency, and receiving help with care, especially among older, female, and spouse caregivers. Further diagnostic workup should follow to confirm psycho-pathogenicity among caregivers with DASS-8 scores above 14.5. Investigations of the DASS-8 in other countries/populations may confirm the validity of this cutoff score.

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When Adding One Questionnaire Item Makes a Difference: Representing the Theme of Feeling Cared About in the Expanded General Mattering Scale (The GMS-6)

Flett,

Nepon

2024

Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment

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Converging lines of evidence suggest that a feeling of being cared for and cared about is a key element of the feeling of mattering to other people. In the current article, we summarized theoretical observations and the findings of research investigations that indicate that the feeling of being cared about is central to the mattering construct. We then evaluated the role of feeling cared for in an extended six-item General Mattering Scale (GMS-6). A sample of 276 university students completed the GMS-6 and self-report measures of depression and loneliness. Psychometric tests established that a six-item version has one factor and enhanced internal consistency. Correlational analyses confirmed that mattering is associated negatively with depression and loneliness. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the additional focus on feeling cared about predicts unique variance in depression and loneliness beyond the considerable amount of variance predicted by the original GMS. The lack of feeling cared as measured by the GMS-6 was established as especially relevant to loneliness. Our discussion focuses on key directions for future research and for the need for a greater emphasis on caring as part of mattering from a construct validity perspective.

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The General Mattering Scale, the Anti-Mattering Scale, and the Fear of Not Mattering Inventory: Psychometric Properties and Links with Distress and Hope Among Chinese University Students

Cited by 6 publications

References 67 publications

Examining problematic internet use, mattering, and distress in interpersonally vulnerable senior high school students: A longitudinal study during summer holidays and academic terms

Examining problematic internet use, mattering, and distress in interpersonally vulnerable senior high school students: A longitudinal study during summer holidays and academic terms

The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 8: investigating its cutoff scores in relevance to loneliness and burnout among dementia family caregivers

When Adding One Questionnaire Item Makes a Difference: Representing the Theme of Feeling Cared About in the Expanded General Mattering Scale (The GMS-6)

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