Helicopter Parenting Can Hinder College-Age Kids

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on PsychCentral.

A new study finds that parents who are too involved with their college-age kids could indirectly lead to issues such as depression and anxiety.

“Helicopter parents are parents who are overly involved,” said Florida State University doctoral candidate Kayla Reed. “They mean everything with good intentions, but it often goes beyond supportive to intervening in the decisions of emerging adults.”

Reed and Assistant Professor of Family and Child Sciences Dr. Mallory Lucier-Greer explain that what has been called “helicopter parenting” can have a meaningful impact on how young adults see themselves and whether they can meet challenges or handle adverse situations.

The current study, found online in the Journal of Child and Family Studies, specifically examined emerging adults, or college-aged students navigating the waters of attending college.

Researchers surveyed more than 460 college students, ages 18 to 25, seeking to learn how their mothers influenced their life decisions. Specifically, researchers asked students how their mothers would respond to sample situations. Investigators looked at mothers because they are traditionally in the primary caregiver role.

Researchers also asked students to self-assess their abilities to persist in complicated tasks or adverse situations and then also rate their depression, life satisfaction, anxiety, and physical health.

Students who had mothers who allowed them more autonomy reported higher life satisfaction, physical health, and self-efficacy. However, students with a so-called helicopter parent were more likely to report low levels of self-efficacy, or the ability to handle some tougher life tasks and decisions.

In turn, those who reported low levels of self-efficacy also reported higher levels of anxiety and depression, and lower life satisfaction and physical health.

“The way your parents interact with you has a lot to do with how you view yourself,” Lucier-Greer said. “If parents are simply being supportive, they are saying things like ‘you can manage your finances, you can pick out your classes.’

“It changes if they are doing that all for you. I think there are good intentions behind those helicopter behaviors, but at the end of the day you need to foster your child’s development.”

Source: PsychCentral
http://psychcentral.com/news/2016/06/29/helicopter-parenting-during-college-can-harm/105660.html