The purpose of this exploratory longitudinal study was to examine stability and change of helicopter parenting throughout the first few years of emerging adulthood and to examine child and parent–child relational factors that might predict helicopter parenting. Participants included 453 emerging adults from a northwestern city in the United States (51% female, 33% single-parent families) who participated in a 10-year longitudinal study, with the current study examining ages 19–21. Results revealed that (a) for both mothers and fathers, helicopter parenting decreased over time, (b) some child and relational factors predicted initial levels of helicopter parenting, but (c) the findings were somewhat different for mothers and fathers and for daughters and sons. The findings support the growing understanding that the links between helicopter parenting and child (mal)adjustment are nuanced and complex. Findings have implications for those who work with parents and young people in trying to promote flourishing during emerging adulthood.
Although time spent using media has been linked to internalizing problems, few studies have explored the role that parents might play in these associations. The current study explored how controlling and autonomy-supportive restrictive and active parental media monitoring were associated with adolescents’ internalizing problems via time spent using media (media multitasking, social media, TV, video games, music, reading, texting, and Internet). The current study used data from a national study of teens aged 10–20 (N = 1,193, 52% female, 68% White, 13% Black, 11% Latino). Results suggested that only autonomy-supportive restrictive media monitoring was associated with lower media use for both boys and girls on all platforms of media except reading. In turn, media multitasking was associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression, and social media use was associated with higher levels of anxiety. There were also a number of associations that varied as a function of adolescent sex. Discussion focuses on the links between parental media monitoring, media use, and adolescents’ internalizing symptoms.
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