‘I Could Go Naked and Nobody Would Notice’: A Qualitative Study of Mattering in UK University Students

University students who feel like they matter are less likely to experience mental health problems. A better understanding of mattering in university students is needed to tackle increasing levels of poor mental health. In this qualitative study, 155 UK university students responded to open-ended questions in an online survey, giving details of situations in which they felt like they mattered, and those in which they felt like they did not matter. Reflexive thematic analysis of their responses produced themes for mattering (participation, being cared about, helping, recognition) and for not mattering (not being cared about, being ignored, being invisible). These findings were used to make recommendations for universities on how to increase mattering (and decrease anti-mattering) in their students as a strategy to combat the increasing prevalence of mental health problems. Theoretical and practical contributions made by this qualitative study are discussed, and suggestions for further research made.