Perceived helicopter parenting and self-determination theory in emerging adulthood

Self-determination theory encompasses three different elements, competence, autonomy and social belongingness (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Helicopter parenting is defined as extreme involvement in a child’s life to the point of making decisions for them while also being associated with high levels of parental support and high feelings of parental-child closeness (Padilla-Walker & Nelson, 2012). Research has shown that helicopter parenting has been associated with psychological and behavioral problems in young adults, (Odenweller, BoothButterfield, & Weber, 2014). The current study investigated the association between perceived helicopter parenting and self-determination theory components along with intrinsic motivation and academic and extracurricular engagement in college students. Helicopter parenting and selfdetermination variables were found to be inversely related, such that high perceived helicopter parenting correlated with low scores for self-determination variables. This study provides key insight into perceived helicopter parenting and the possible maladaptive associations for emerging adults and the responsibilities that come with adulthood. PERCIEVED HELICOPTER PARENTING AND SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY IN EMERGING ADULTHOOD 5 Perceived Helicopter Parenting and Self-Determination Theory in Emerging Adulthood Is there a relationship between parenting style and the child’s development of selfautonomy, sense of belongingness and/or competence? Are children of highly involved parents more likely to have low levels of intrinsic motivation for academic work and/or extracurricular activities? Parent involvement in their child’s life is usually viewed as positive, but can parents be too invested? Most researchers would say, ‘yes,’ to all of these questions. Several studies have demonstrated an inverse relationship between parental involvement and a child’s level of intrinsic motivation, competence, and sense of belongingness. This overparenting can be defined as parents who frequently intervene or give off the perception that they will intervene in their child’s life in situations and contexts where there are potential negative experiences or consequences (Padilla-Walker and Nelson, 2012). Overparenting in a child’s life can become particularly detrimental during adolescence and college years, a period also known as emerging adulthood, as this is a crucial time period in an individual’s life for various social and psychological developments (Nelson, 2005). Many university officials are concerned about the current and future implications for children of helicopter parents as they begin to enter college, and eventually the workplace, and are unable to resolve tasks on their own, keep up with work demands, or navigate a professional setting independently (LeMoyne & Buchanan, 2011). Emerging adulthood focuses on the age range between 18-25, which is somewhat of an “in-between” period between adolescents and full adulthood; it is a relatively new concept as a few decades ago most people only perceived people as adults or kids (Arnett, 2000). Emerging adulthood is a time period that includes obtaining new responsibilities and less parental support. Successful transition into feeling like a true adult is crucial for the success of individuals in society (Nelson, 2005). One might speculate that the top factors associated with feeling like a PERCIEVED HELICOPTER PARENTING AND SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY IN EMERGING ADULTHOOD 6 true adult include things like having a stable job, being in a long-term committed relationship and/or completing education, but according to research by Greene et al. (1992), this is not the case. Data indicate the criteria that young people account on the top of their list for being an ‘adult’ are being held solely responsible for one’s actions, autonomous decision making, and self-sufficiency, which in turn is related to being financially independent (Greene et al., 1992). During this transitional period to full-fledged adulthood, many individuals are able to fully explore their area of interests for education and career. Although it is common to work a minimal skill part-time job during adolescent years to support various leisure activities or help contribute to their wellbeing, most young adults are still not fully financially independent. This might be why it is not until a young adult is more able to fully support themselves through an adult work role that they begin to fully identify as a grown-up (Arnett, 2000). Much like educational choices and experiences, deciding on a lifelong career allows emerging adults to learn more about themselves and therefore facilitates self-development of identity. Though the idea of ‘discovering oneself’ is largely associated with adolescence, in reality emerging adulthood is when actual identity achievement is usually more attainable (Arnett, 2000). Self-autonomy is a crucial element of identity exploration and mental and social maturation, which is why a parenting style like helicopter parenting may cause issues for emerging adults. Overinvolvement by parents, or as the current study is specifically examining, helicopter parenting, can have many poor developmental associations for children as exemplified by a study conducted by Lindell, Campione-Barr, and Killoren (2017). The researchers had 260 college students take an online questionnaire. Their results showed that autonomy restricting behavioral and psychological control were negatively associated with transition competency for adulthood (Lindell, Campione-Barr and Killoren, 2017). Participants who scored high for autonomy PERCIEVED HELICOPTER PARENTING AND SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY IN EMERGING ADULTHOOD 7 restricting behavioral and psychological control scored lower on transition competency for adulthood. Bradley-Geist and Olson-Buchanan found related findings, as their research on associations between helicopter parenting and college students revealed that over-parenting was associated with maladaptive responses to workplace scenarios. In their study researchers provided participants with four different workplace scenarios and different choices of how they would respond to each of them, with certain choices deemed as ‘maladaptive’ (Bradley-Geist & Olson-Buchanan, 2015). A positive relationship between perceived overparenting and maladaptive responses was found, meaning participants who scored high for perceived overparenting scored higher for maladaptive workplace responses. This failure to negotiate ‘grown-up’ situations is becoming an increasingly alarming situation, as research by Nelson and Barry (2005) found that only 25% of participants in their study, ages 19-25 (M = 21.09), identified as having reached adulthood. It is not only the emerging adults that are failing to see themselves as full-fledged adults but their parents too, as another study by Nelson et al. (2007), revealed that less than 20% of parents answered ‘yes’ to “Do you think your child has reached adulthood? ” This phenomenon may shed some light on why so many parents today continue to shelter and coddle their children in ways that align with perceived helicopter parenting, well into their legal adult years. Though most perceived helicopter parents are doing what they think is best for their child, research has found high perceived helicopter parenting scores to be associated with poor child outcomes like low selfworth, high anxiety, depression, and impulsivity (Nelson & Padilla-Walker, 2011). These associations, along with many other findings which tie helicopter parenting to negative social and psychological outcomes (e.g., LeMoyne & Buchanan, 2011; Lindell, Campione-Barr & Killoren, 2017; Odenweller, Booth-Butterfield & Weber, 2014), is why it is so important to PERCIEVED HELICOPTER PARENTING AND SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY IN EMERGING ADULTHOOD 8 examine the implications that perceived helicopter parenting can have on emerging adulthood further. Many of these issues found to be associated with perceived helicopter parenting pertain to self-determination theory as competence, autonomy, and social belongingness are all crucial for psychological development (Deci & Ryan, 1991). Self-determination is a theory that encompasses three different elements, competence, autonomy, and social belongingness (Deci & Ryan, 2000). As the name indicates this is a theory centered on the idea of one’s ‘self’ and the constant battle people have between the active, inner self and various external sources, particularly during developmental stages of life (Deci & Ryan, 1991). According to this theory, competence, autonomy, and social belongingness are innate needs that an individual must foster and establish in order to fully develop the self (Deci & Ryan, 1991). In relation to parenting style, self-determination theory stresses the importance of autonomy supportive parents so that children can develop intrinsic motivation and competence (Ryan et al, 2006). Competence pertains to the concept of understanding how to attain and have control over various internal and external results and being capable of completing those steps to reach such desired outcomes (Deci & Ryan, 1991). As outlined in the same article by Deci and Ryan (1991) an individual must first have a sense of competence in order to cultivate and possess intrinsic motivation. The third element of self-determination theory, social belongingness, is the idea that parental support and peer acceptance is essential for enabling motivation within an individual (Deci & Ryan, 1990). The following study will examine the relationship between perceived helicopter parenting and the student’s self-reported needs identified by selfdetermination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1990). The connection between perceived helicopter parenting and intrinsic motivation for academic work and extracurricular activities in college will