Who Matters to Emerging Adults: Links to Well-Being and Loneliness
Malaina R. Vaden
Department of Psychology
Faculty Supervisor: Jeffrey T. Cookston
This study explored how perceived mattering in relationships was associated with well-being and loneliness among young adults. Mattering is a sense of feeling important and valued by others, and we examined who matters to young adults. Participants included 221 young adults, ages 18 to 25. Data were collected between 2023 and 2025 through online surveys. First, participants listed individuals who mattered to them. Next, they completed the Mattering Scale about five common close relationships (i.e., mother figure, father figure, romantic partner, best friend, and closest-in-age sibling). Finally, participants completed surveys about well-being (M = 5.594, SD = 1.028) and loneliness (M = 5.594, SD = 1.028). Mother figures (n = 141) were the most listed relationships during the open-ended portion, followed by father figures (n = 104), with the other three relationships following. However, no specific relationship nor the length of the list were related to loneliness, p > .12. For all five common close relationships, if participants did not mention the person in their list of relationships that matter, they subsequently reported lower mattering toward that person in the survey (all p < .05). High mattering scores to mother figures were correlated to higher well-being, r = .145, p = .049. High mattering scores for father figures, r = -.172, p = .025, and siblings, r = -.196, p = .01, were both correlated to lower loneliness. In summary, we found that young adults who have mother figures, father figures, or siblings who matter would likely have better outcomes. We considered how future research may increase understanding of how close relationships are linked to well-being among young adults and how mattering shapes other areas of their lives. This study may be applied in clinical, educational, and family settings as a possible intervention and assessment tactic in the context of mental health for young adults. Future directions of this study include examining how mattering impacts other aspects of emerging adults’ lives, such as physical health, food habits, social behaviors, and education or career outcomes.