Educational identity and maternal helicopter parenting: Moderation by perceptions of environmental threat
Refereed conference paper presented and published in conference proceedings
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AbstractHelicopter parenting refers to developmentally inappropriate involvement in youths’ lives. Prior studies on helicopter parenting have emphasized its negative effects on youth’s adjustment, ignoring the possibility that it might be a response to youth difficulties. Chinese parents, who strongly value children’s academic achievements, may become overinvolved when they perceive that youth are facing academic difficulties. Parents who sense high levels of environmental threat, such as competition and uncertainty, might be especially likely to over-function for youth to ensure their success.
This four-wave, multi-informant study used Random-Intercept Cross Lagged Panel Models (RI-CLPM) to test within-family, reciprocal links between maternal helicopter parenting and first-year college students’ educational identity processes (i.e., commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration), and the moderating effects of mothers’ perceived environmental threat. Hong Kong mothers (N=349, Mage=49.10) reported helicopter parenting and threat perceptions. Late-adolescents (Mage=18.20) reported educational identity processes.
Latent Class Growth Analysis identified two subgroups based on mothers’ threat perceptions (i.e., Lower vs. Higher). Multi-group RI-CLPMs found that, at the within-person level, youth’s reconsideration of educational commitments positively predicted helicopter parenting only for mothers with higher threat perceptions.
These findings suggest that Chinese mothers’ helicopter parenting follows youth’s academic difficulties in the transition to college, rather than preceding them. Results also offer insights into the environmental triggers that increase the likelihood of over-involved parenting in this period.
This four-wave, multi-informant study used Random-Intercept Cross Lagged Panel Models (RI-CLPM) to test within-family, reciprocal links between maternal helicopter parenting and first-year college students’ educational identity processes (i.e., commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration), and the moderating effects of mothers’ perceived environmental threat. Hong Kong mothers (N=349, Mage=49.10) reported helicopter parenting and threat perceptions. Late-adolescents (Mage=18.20) reported educational identity processes.
Latent Class Growth Analysis identified two subgroups based on mothers’ threat perceptions (i.e., Lower vs. Higher). Multi-group RI-CLPMs found that, at the within-person level, youth’s reconsideration of educational commitments positively predicted helicopter parenting only for mothers with higher threat perceptions.
These findings suggest that Chinese mothers’ helicopter parenting follows youth’s academic difficulties in the transition to college, rather than preceding them. Results also offer insights into the environmental triggers that increase the likelihood of over-involved parenting in this period.
Acceptance Date29/02/2024
All Author(s) ListWang Y., Hawk S.T., Branje S.
Name of Conference27th Biennial Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development
Start Date of Conference16/06/2024
End Date of Conference20/06/2024
Place of ConferenceLisbon
Country/Region of ConferencePortugal
Year2024
LanguagesEnglish-United States
