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Helicopter parenting (HP) is characterized by over-controlling parents who do not make adjustments to their level of involvement in the lives of their children as they strive for independence. Our research is based in the belief that helicopter parenting forces their children to decide between the three basic psychological needs proposed by Self Determination Theory (SDT) – autonomy, competency, and connectedness. We expected that HP interferes with the development of autonomy and competency in children. Therefore, when placed in a stressful situation, children experiencing more HP will have to choose between autonomy and competence or connectedness to parents. Additionally, the overbearing nature of HP may associate with an insecure attachment because the students are forced to accept their parents’ intrusions that threaten their competence and autonomy. We tested our hypothesis that higher levels of HP would result in lower levels of competency in common academic situations. Additionally, we hypothesized that the students who report higher levels of HP would indicate higher levels of insecure attachment.
Methods:
Data were collected using a cross-sectional survey. We recruited college students (N = 161) enrolled in an undergraduate liberal arts university. Participants were randomly assigned to read one of three vignettes, each describing a potentially stressful collegiate situation (i.e., interpersonal, routine, problematic) with an authority figure (i.e., a college professor). They were then asked how likely they were to contact their parents and friends before and after the scenario, and completed a measure of their individual ability to deal with the situation. Finally, they completed measures of HP and attachment.
Results: A MANCOVA analysis, controlling for gender, revealed that there was a main effect that students who reported higher levels of HP also reported that they were less likely to contact their parents than those who reported low levels of HP (F(148) = 2.892, p < .05) in all three situations. An additional main effect was found of the different conditions on the contact levels and individual capability (F(296) = 13.406, p < .001). Participants were significantly (p < .001) less likely to contact parents in response to the problematic situation (M = 3.87) when compared to participants in the routine situation (M = 7.38). Additional results indicated that students reporting higher HP were more likely to indicate higher levels of insecure attachment (rs ranging from = .21- .25, p < .01).
Implications:
In accordance with SDT, this study indicates HP disrupts the psychological needs of students, potentially causing internal conflict in collegiate situations. In general, students experiencing higher levels of HP are less likely to seek out support from their parents than students with less over-controlling parents. This suggests an interference in the relatedness component of SDT, as these high HP students may fear that reaching out to their parents will threaten their feelings of autonomy or sense of competence. Finally, students who experience high HP also report a suboptimal attachment. Thus, students high in HP appear reluctant to involve their parents when support may be helpful.