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

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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.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Aubrey Chapman for her assistance with this manuscript.

Funding

This research was funded by a grant from the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health (JRG-207) awarded to Kouros and Ekas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, 75275, USA

    Chrystyna D. Kouros, Romilyn Kiriaki & Megan Sunderland

  2. Department of Psychology, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, 76129, USA

    Megan M. Pruitt & Naomi V. Ekas

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  1. Chrystyna D. Kouros
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Correspondence to Chrystyna D. Kouros.

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Kouros, C.D., Pruitt, M.M., Ekas, N.V. et al. Helicopter Parenting, Autonomy Support, and College Students’ Mental Health and Well-being: The Moderating Role of Sex and Ethnicity. J Child Fam Stud 26, 939–949 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0614-3

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