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J Child Fam Stud (2014) 23:548557 DOI 10.1007/s10826-013-9716-3
ORIGINAL PAPER
Helping or Hovering? The Effects of Helicopter Parenting on College Students Well-Being
Holly H. Schiffrin Miriam Liss Haley Miles-McLean
Katherine A. Geary Mindy J. Erchull
Taryn Tashner
Published online: 9 February 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013
Abstract Parental involvement is related to many positive child outcomes, but if not developmentally appropriate, it can be associated with higher levels of child anxiety and depression. Few studies have examined the effects of over-controlling parenting, or helicopter parenting, in college students. Some studies have found that college students of over-controlling parents report feeling less satised with family life and have lower levels of psychological well-being. This study examined self-determination theory as the potential underlying mechanism explaining this relationship. College students (N = 297) completed measures of helicopter parenting, autonomy supportive parenting, depression, anxiety, satisfaction with life, and basic psychological needs satisfaction. Students who reported having over-controlling parents reported signicantly higher levels of depression and less satisfaction with life. Furthermore, the negative effects of helicopter parenting on college students well-being were largely explained by the perceived violation of students basic psychological needs for autonomy and competence.
Keywords Helicopter parenting Depression
Satisfaction with life Basic psychological needs
Self-determination theory
Introduction
Recently, several books have raised awareness and concern about parental over-involvement that may lead to negative
outcomes in children (Bronson and Merryman 2009; Hofer and Moore 2010; Levine 2006; Marano 2008; Nelson 2010). Specically, these authors discuss how having over-involved parents may be related to higher levels of depression and anxiety as well as less perseverance in children (Gibbs 2009; Levine 2006; Marano 2008). This literature has also suggested that children of over-involved or over-controlling parents may feel less competent and less able to manage life and its stressors (Bronson and Merryman 2009; Gibbs 2009; Hofer and Moore 2010; Marano 2008).
In contrast to warnings about the dangers of over-parenting, the child development literature is replete with evidence that parental involvement in childrens lives facilitates healthy development (Combs-Orme et al. 2003; Day and Padilla-Walker 2009; Joussemet et al. 2008; Pomerantz et al. 2007). Young children whose parents are highly involved in their lives and provide developmentally appropriate structure have better academic (Fan and Chen 2001; Pomerantz et al....