Examining the Psychometric Properties of Four Mattering Constructs Through Rasch Modeling: Evidence From Turkish Adolescents and College Students

Abstract

Background Mattering and anti-mattering are central constructs in understanding individual well-being. Traditionally, these concepts have been studied in offline social contexts. The rise of information and communication technologies has expanded the social environments in which individuals may feel valued or, conversely, insignificant. However, evidence on measurement invariance of these combined offline and online mattering scales for gender and different developmental stages remains limited in culturally diverse countries, including Turkey.Objectives This study aimed to validate four scales assessing both offline and online dimensions of mattering and anti-mattering-the General Mattering Scale, the Anti-Mattering Scale, the Online Mattering Scale, and the Online Anti-Mattering Scale-within a Turkish sample of adolescents and college students.Methods: Data were collected from 888 participants (high school students: n = 434, mean age = 15.51 +/- 1.02, 63.1% female; college students: n = 454, mean age = 21.10 +/- 1.67, 84.1% female). Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were conducted to examine the dimensional structure and reliability of the scales. Additionally, the Many-Facet Rasch Model (MFRM) was applied to test measurement invariance across educational levels and gender.Results CFA results indicated acceptable fit indices for all four scales across both groups, with reliability coefficients exceeding recommended thresholds. MFRM analyses further supported measurement invariance across high school and college students, as well as across male and female participants.Conclusion The four-scale set appears psychometrically sound for use with Turkish adolescents and emerging adults and is well-suited to capturing the complexity of contemporary hybrid social environments, where experiences of significance and neglect can occur both offline and online.