Helicopter Parenting, Autonomy Support, and College Students’ Mental Health and Well-being: The Moderating Role of Sex and Ethnicity

Abstract

Whereas parental involvement is consistently linked with positive child outcomes throughout development, parental involvement that is not developmentally appropriate and intrusive--a style of parenting called helicopter parenting--can be problematic for their child’s adjustment and well-being. Helicopter parenting can be particularly harmful during emerging adulthood when young adults are working toward developmental goals of self-reliance and autonomy. The purpose of this study was to examine sex differences in the relation between helicopter parenting and autonomy support on college students’ mental health and well-being. A secondary aim was to explore the extent to which there were ethnic differences (non-Hispanic White vs. Hispanic) in associations between parenting and college students’ outcomes. We examined several domains of mental health, including dysphoria symptoms, social anxiety, and general well-being. A sample of 118 undergraduate students (Mage = 19.82 years, SD = 1.38; 83.1% female; 57% European American) completed measures of parenting and mental health and well-being. The results showed that higher levels of helicopter parenting predicted lower levels of well-being for females, whereas higher levels of autonomy support predicted lower levels of dysphoria symptoms and social anxiety among males. No ethnic differences were found. The findings highlight that parents’ behavior continues to predict their child’s well-being even in emerging adulthood, and that parenting may differentially predict male and female college students’ mental health outcomes.

Helicopter Parenting and Young Adults’ Well-Being: A Comparison Between United States and Finland

“…Covariates, such as age, gender, year in school, family structure, and socioeconomic status, were included in both studies. These factors have been demonstrated to be related to helicopter parenting and young adult outcomes (e.g., Kouros, Pruitt, Ekas, Kiriaki, & Sunderland, 2017). Analyses were conducted within each sample and then compared.…”

Examining the Effects of Exercise on Frustration-Induced Anxiety-Like Behavior in Rats

“…One area that has received less research atten tion (but where the literature is perhaps most consistent) concerns links between helicopter par enting behaviors and poor mental health outcomes in college students. College students who report that their parents engage in high levels of helicopter parenting endorse more symptoms of generalized anxiety (Darlow, Norvilitis, & Schuetze, 2017;Reed et al, 2016), social anxiety (Kouros, Pruitt, Ekas, Kiriaki, & Sunderland, 2017), depression (Darlow et al, 2017;Reilly & Semkovska, 2018;Schiffrin et al, 2014), as well as greater psychotropic medica tion use for anxiety and depression (LeMoyne & Buchanan, 2011). However, only three published studies have examined potential mediators of these associations, meaning that the mechanisms by which helicopter parenting may be associated with poor mental health outcomes for college students have not been largely explored.…”

The Effects of Conflicting Dietary Information on Dieting Self-Efficacy and Motivation

“…One area that has received less research atten tion (but where the literature is perhaps most consistent) concerns links between helicopter par enting behaviors and poor mental health outcomes in college students. College students who report that their parents engage in high levels of helicopter parenting endorse more symptoms of generalized anxiety (Darlow, Norvilitis, & Schuetze, 2017;Reed et al, 2016), social anxiety (Kouros, Pruitt, Ekas, Kiriaki, & Sunderland, 2017), depression (Darlow et al, 2017;Reilly & Semkovska, 2018;Schiffrin et al, 2014), as well as greater psychotropic medica tion use for anxiety and depression (LeMoyne & Buchanan, 2011). However, only three published studies have examined potential mediators of these associations, meaning that the mechanisms by which helicopter parenting may be associated with poor mental health outcomes for college students have not been largely explored.…”