Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Date of Graduation
Spring 2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science (BS)
Department
Department of Psychology
Advisor(s)
Monica Reis-Bergan
Janna Taft Young
Benjamin Meade
Abstract
Emerging adulthood is a time when young people around 18 to 25 years old try out different experiences and work their way toward commitments in love and work (Arnett, 2006). Many emerging adults are in college and are expected by society to become independent from their parents by the time they graduate. Parents who remain high on warmth and support but high on control and low on granting autonomy inconsistent with the age of the child are considered helicopter parents (Padilla-Walker & Nelson, 2012). The current study examined the association between helicopter parenting, aggression, entitlement, materialism, and substance use of four hundred college students (108 males) through an online survey. The results suggest students who perceived higher levels of helicopter parents self-reported being more aggressive, entitled, and materialistic than students who perceived lower levels of helicopter parenting. Furthermore, males who did not use cannabis perceived significantly higher levels of helicopter parenting than male cannabis users. Consistent with previous research, males in the current study self-reported more physical and verbal aggression, as well as consuming alcohol and using cannabis more. Future research is needed to examine the effects of helicopter parenting on overall alcohol and cannabis use.
Recommended Citation
Benton, Faith, "Life variables of college students who report helicopter parenting" (2019). Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019. 650.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/honors201019/650
