Black hawk down?: Establishing helicopter parenting as a distinct construct from other forms of parental control during emerging adulthood

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to establish a measure of helicopter parenting that was distinct from other forms of parental control, and to examine parental and behavioral correlates of helicopter parenting. Participants included 438 undergraduate students from four universities in the United States (M(age) = 19.65, SD = 2.00, range = 18-29; 320 women, 118 men), and at least one of their parents. Analyses revealed that helicopter parenting loaded on a separate factor from both behavioral and psychological control, and that helicopter parenting was positively associated with behavioral and psychological control, but not at levels suggesting complete overlap. Results also revealed that helicopter parenting was positively associated with parental involvement and with other positive aspects of the parent-child relationship; but negatively associated with parental autonomy granting and school engagement. Discussion focuses on the implications of helicopter parenting for healthy development during emerging adulthood.

Parental involvement in the lives of intercollegiate athletes

“…Harper et al (2012) discovered that highly involved parents had children that were more socially satisfied with their college experience. Padilla-Walker and Nelson (2012) found that children of over-involved parents saw their relationship as "high in guidance, involvement, and emotional support" (p. 1186). Whether over-involvement causes more positive or negative outcomes is unclear.…”

“…Whether over-involvement causes more positive or negative outcomes is unclear. However, most researchers have suggested that parents who are overinvolved typically want the best for their child (Brussoni & Olsen, 2012;Givertz & Segrin, 2014;Padilla-Walker & Nelson, 2012;Segrin et al, 2012). Also, it has been discovered that the majority of parents are not over-involved, but it is important to understand the impact of those who are (Lowe et al, 2015).…”

“…Researchers have found that overinvolved parenting often happens because parents are concerned about their children and want to protect them (Brussoni & Olsen, 2012;Givertz & Segrin, 2014;Padilla-Walker & Nelson, 2012;Segrin et al, 2012). Padilla-Walker and Nelson (2012) and Segrin et al (2015) both suggested that over-involved parents were worried about their child's wellbeing.…”

“…Segrin, Givertz, Swaitkowski, and Montgomery (2015) found that children of over-involved parents responded to social problems by withdrawing, and they had a more challenging time connecting with others. Negatives also included lower levels of family satisfaction, life satisfaction, selfefficacy, feelings of autonomy, coping skills, and academic engagement (Bradley-Geist & Olson-Buchanan, 2013;Cullaty, 2011;Givertz & Segrin, 2014;Padilla-Walker & Nelson, 2012;Schiffrin et al, 2014;Segrin et al, 2013). Researchers have also tied other negative outcomes to over-involved parenting, such as higher levels of interpersonal dependency, neuroticism, depression, narcissism, and entitlement (Givertz & Segrin, 2014;Odenweller et al, 2014;Schiffrin et al, 2014;Segrin et al, 2012;Segrin et al, 2013).…”

“…While research has been increasing on this topic, the line between a healthily involved parent and an over-involved parent has not been clear in the literature. This can be seen in the multiple terms that are used to discuss the concept of parents being excessively involved in their child's lives such as overinvolvement (Givertz & Segrin, 2014), overparenting (Bradley-Geist & OlsonBuchanan, 2013;Segrin et al, 2012), overprotection (Brussoni & Olsen, 2012), high levels of involvement (Cullaty, 2011), helicopter parenting (Lowe et al, 2015;Padilla-Walker & Nelson, 2012;Schiffrin et al, 2014), bulldozer parenting (Taylor, 2006) and intense parental support (Fingerman et al, 2012). This study utilizes the term overinvolvement.…”