Do Helicopter Parents Cause Life Turbulence For Their Offspring? Implications of Parental Psychological Control for College Students’ Adjustment
Year: 2010
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Significant numbers of college students experience adjustment problems during the transition to college.Research suggests that parental psychological control contributes to college student maladjustment; however, the mechanism by which this effect takes place is unclear.The present study tested the hypothesis that conflictual independence mediates the relationship between college adjustment and maternal and paternal psychological control.In addition, college student gender was expected to moderate this link.Regression analyses demonstrated that conflictual independence mediated the link between parental psychological control and college adjustment problems; however, the nature of these relationships differed by parent and college student gender.These results suggest that conflictual independence represents an important mechanism by which psychological control relates to college adjustment problems.However, conflictual independence did not significantly impact all relationships tested.Therefore, further investigation is necessary in order to fully understand the mechanisms by which psychological control impacts college adjustment problems.
Author: Emily A. Bendikas
Institution: Miami University
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2305257100