Description
Book SynopsisCombining empirical evidence with indices to measure mattering,
Family Matters: The Importance of Mattering to Family in Adolescence explores the inverse relationship between mattering and dysfunctional behavior in adolescence.
- Defines mattering and distinguishes among the three ways that people can matter to others: awareness, importance, and reliance
- Utilizes empirical evidence from a quantitative analyses of data from a nationwide survey 2,004 adolescents to support author's assertions
- Explores the impact of structural and demographic factors such as family structure in developing of a sense of mattering in adolescents.
- Includes helpful indices, including his Mattering Index and Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Index
- Suggests how parents, teachers, and other significant people in the lives of adolescents can work to instill a sense of mattering in those under their care
Trade Review"I enjoyed reading
Family Matters and the first research findings drawn from a large sample. The chapters summarizing what mattering is and how it motivates behavior provide a nice overview for uninitiated readers...this book helps highlight a construct that may be important for family researchers and hopefully will help encourage others to consider engaging in research to fill in the many gaps in our knowledge about mattering." (Journal of Family Theory & Review, Autumn 2010)
"This book is recommended for social psychologists, sociologists, psychologists, and social workers. I found it thought provoking and would like to see items on mattering added to large-scale surveys. Readers are likely to think of instances of how not mattering has mattered in their own lives." (International Journal of Sociology of the family, Autumn 2010)
“The book is clear, provocative, and well documented.” (CHOICE, February 2010)
Table of ContentsPreface.
Acknowledgments.
1 What Does it Mean to Matter?.
2 Mattering Matters.
3 Researching Mattering: An Overview.
4 Mattering and Anti-Social Behavior.
5 Mattering and Self-Destructive Behavior.
6 Inducing Mattering.
Appendix: Researching Mattering: A Scientific View.
References.
Index
