Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T17:24:01.250Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Helicopter Parenting and the Policy Attitudes of College Students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2017

Kerri Milita  and
Jaclyn Bunch
Kerri Milita
Affiliation:
Illinois State University
Jaclyn Bunch
Affiliation:
University of South Alabama
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Helicopter parenting is a phenomenon that is attracting sizable attention from university administrators and instructors. We examine the implications of helicopter parenting for both the political science classroom and for public opinion. Using a survey conducted at multiple universities in the United States, we find that helicopter parenting has a significant impact on the policy attitudes of college students. Specifically, students with helicopter parents are more likely to express support for both government surveillance and nanny state policies than are students without helicopter parents. Given the growing trend of helicopter parenting, these findings will likely have substantial implications for both the political science classroom and public opinion in the near future.

Type
Articles
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 50 , Issue 2 , April 2017 , pp. 359 - 366
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Albertson, Bethany and Gadarian, Shana Kushner. 2015. Anxious Politics: Democratic Citizenship in a Threatening World. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Ballash, Natalie G., Pemble, Michelle K., Usui, Wayne M., Buckley, Amy F., and Woodruff-Borden, Janet. 2006. “Family Functioning, Perceived Control, and Anxiety.” Journal of Anxiety Disorders 20 (4): 486–97.Google Scholar
Barnes, Ginny. 2009. “Guess Who’s Coming to Work: Generation Y. Are You Ready for Them?” Public Library Quarterly 28 (1): 58–63.Google Scholar
Bradley-Geist, Jill C. and Olson-Buchanan, Julie B.. 2014. “Helicopter Parents: an Examination of the Correlates of Over-Parenting of College Students.” Education and Training 56 (4): 314–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fingerman, Karen L., Cheng, Yen-Pi, Wesselmann, Eric D., Carit, Steven, Furstenberg, Frank, and Birditt, Kira S.. 2012. “Helicopter Parents and Landing Pad Kids: Intense Parental Support of Grown Children.” Journal of Marriage and Family 74 (4): 880–96.Google Scholar
Lawless, Jennifer L. and Fox, Richard L.. 2015. Running From Office: Why Young Americans are Turned Off to Politics. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Givertz, Michelle and Segrin, Chris. 2012. “The Association Between Overinvolved Parenting and Young Adults’ Self-Efficacy, Psychological Entitlement, and Family Communication.” Communication Research 41 (8): 1111–36.Google Scholar
Gude, Karl. 2014. “College Students and their Helicopter Parents: a Recipe for Stress.” Huffington Post. April 8. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karl-gude/ parents-the-worst-kind-of_b_5097971.html. Last Accessed on June 16, 2015.Google Scholar
Harper, Casandra E., Sax, Linda J., and Wolf, De’Sha S.. 2012. “The Role of Parents in College Students’ Sociopolitical Awareness, Academic, and Social Development.” Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice 49 (2): 137–56.Google Scholar
Healy, Andrew and Malhotra, Neil. 2013. “Childhood Socialization and Political Attitudes: Evidence from a Natural Experiment.” Journal of Politics 75 (4): 1023–37.Google Scholar
Jennings, M. Kent and Niemi, Richard G.. 1968. “The Transmission of Political Values from Parent to Child.” American Political Science Review 62 (1): 169–84.Google Scholar
Kwon, Kyong-ah, Yoo, Gyesook, and Bingham, Gary E.. 2016. “Helicopter Parenting in Emerging Adulthood: Support or Barrier for Korean College Students’ Psychological Adjustment?” Journal of Child and Family Studies 25 (1): 136–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milburn, Michael. A., Conrad, Sheree D., Sala, Fabio, and Carberry, Sheryl. 1995. “Childhood Punishment, Denial, and Political Attitudes.” Political Psychology 16 (3): 447–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Padilla-Walker, Laura M. and Nelson, Larry J.. 2012. “Black Hawk Down? Establishing Helicopter Parenting as a Distinct Construct from other Forms of Parental Control During Emerging Adulthood.” Journal of Adolescence 35 (5): 1177–90.Google Scholar
Rammstedt, Beatrice and John, Oliver P.. 2007. “Measuring Personality in One Minute or Less: a 10-Item Short Version of the Big Five Inventory in English and German.” Journal of Research in Personality 41 (1): 203–12.Google Scholar
Schiffrin, Holly H., Liss, Miriam, Miles-McLean, Haley, Geary, Katherine A., Erchull, Mindy J., and Tashner, Taryn. 2014. “Helping or Hovering? The Effects of Helicopter Parenting on College Students’ Well-Being.” Journal Child Family Studies 23 (3): 548–57.Google Scholar
Segrin, Chris, Woszidlo, Alesia, Givertz, Michelle, Bauer, Amy, and Murphy, Melissa Taylor. 2012. “The Association Between Over-Parenting, Parent-Child Communication, and Entitlement and Adaptive Traits in Adult Children.” Family Relations 61 (2): 237–52.Google Scholar
Spokas, Megan and Heimberg, Richard G.. 2009. “Overprotective Parenting, Social Anxiety, and External Locus of Control: Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Relationships.” Cognitive Therapy and Research 33: 543–51.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Milita and Bunch supplementary material

Appendix

Download Milita and Bunch supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 94.9 KB