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Cited by 195Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentPsychosocial Factors Impacting YouthAttachment and Relationship Dynamics

Helicopter parenting, autonomy support, and college students' mental health and well-being: the moderating role of sex and ethnicity

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Kouros, Chrystyna D., Pruitt, Megan M., Ekas, Naomi V., Kiriaki, Romilyn, Sunderland, Megan·2017·Journal of Child and Family Studies
DOI 10.1007/s10826-016-0614-3PMC PMC6907082
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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 (M age = 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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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Kouros, C. D., Pruitt, M. M., Ekas, N. V., Kiriaki, R., & Sunderland, M.
Affiliations
  • Southern Methodist University (US)
  • Texas Christian University (US)
Corresponding author
Kouros, Chrystyna D.
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Child and Family Studies
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2016-11-16
Volume
26
Issue
3
Pages
939-949
ISSN
  • 1062-1024 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-2843
DOI
10.1007/s10826-016-0614-3
PMC
PMC6907082
OpenAlex
W2551753746
Cited by
195
References
11
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 1
FWCI
16.06
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.springer.com/tdm (unspecified)
Locations
  • Journal of Child and Family Studies (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
Hogg Foundation for Mental Health (JRG-207)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Psychosocial Factors Impacting Youth
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
Keywords
helicopter parenting, autonomy support, university students, emerging adulthood, mental health, well-being, sex differences, ethnicity, Hispanic students, dysphoria, social anxiety, parental involvement, self-reliance

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