Examining the Relationship between Self-Esteem, Mattering, School Connectedness, and Wellness Among Middle School Students

Abstract

With data collected from 254 middle grade (5–8) students enrolled in a rural, southern school district, this study sought to determine the influence of self-esteem, mattering, and school connectedness on students’ overall wellness. Using a two-step hierarchical multiple regression analysis, the author found that school connectedness significantly improved the amount of variance in student wellness accounted for by self-esteem and mattering alone. This article provides implications for future research and suggestions for school counseling practice in light of these results.

In-Person Versus Online Learning in Relation to Students’ Perceptions of Mattering During COVID-19: A Brief Report

“…These comments underscore that schools are not always welcoming for all students, a point worthy of acknowledgement given the strong body of evidence demonstrating that a poor school climate is associated with lower academic achievement (Bryan et al, 2012;Catalano et al, 2004;Daily et al, 2019;Konold et al, 2018;Niehaus et al, 2012;Osher & Kendziora, 2010;Wang et al, 2014), poorer mental health (Aldridge & McChesney, 2018;Shochet et al, 2006;Somersalo et al, 2002;Suldo et al, 2012), and poorer peer relationships (Konishi et al, 2017;Low & Van Ryzin, 2014). Mattering is an important component of school climate, which is why it correlates positively with school climate (Flett, 2018b;Watson, 2017), including in the present study.…”

“…In this study, we were interested in how teaching children and adolescents online during the pandemic affected their perceptions of mattering. Mattering should be of interest to educators given its link to school climate (Flett, 2018b;Hamby et al, 2019;Watson, 2017) and because students who feel like they matter are "more protected and resilient and highly engaged, both inside and outside the classroom" (Flett et al, 2019, p. 668).…”

“…Adolescence is a time when there is a heightened motivation to affiliate with peers (Brown & Larson, 2009;Harris, 1995), thus mattering matters a lot to teens. Given these developmental norms, it is not surprising that the link between mattering and psychosocial well-being is robust in children and adolescents (Elliott, 2009;Elliott et al, 2005;Marshall, 2001Marshall, , 2004Schenck et al, 2009;Suh et al, 2016), extending to academic indicators such as school completion (Lemon & Watson, 2011) and school connectedness (Watson, 2017), a key aspect of healthy school climate (Flett, 2018b;Hamby et al, 2019;Tucker et al, 2010).…”

Feeling Part of the School and Feeling Safe: Further Development of a Tool for Investigating School Belonging

“…Despite variation in terminology there is a strong degree of consensus about the importance of school belonging with a wide body of empirical literature exploring the relationship between students' sense of belonging or connectedness to school and aspects of young people's wellbeing. These include studies identifying the positive relationship between belonging and self-esteem (Watson 2017); academic outcomes (Niehaus, Moritz Rudasill, and Rakes 2012); mental health (Millings et al 2012); and health risk behaviours (Resnick, Bearman, and Blum et al 1997). Indeed, a sense of belonging is often described as a buffer or protective factor (Millings et al 2012).…”

Students’ Well-Being: The Mediating Roles of Grit and School Connectedness

“…On the one hand, comprehensive exploration has discovered that school connectedness is a significant protecting issue for intellectual well-being and constructive youth growth ( Lester et al, 2013 ) and it is related to learner’s participation in tasks, scholastic performance, and social development ( Watson, 2017 ). On the other hand, poor school connectedness is related to high-risk manners ( Govender et al, 2013 ).…”