Hovering Is Not Helping: Relationships Among Overparenting, Attachment, Academic Outcomes, and Mental Health in College Students

Overparenting (i.e., helicopter parenting) involves intrusive and overly controlling parenting practices. While overparenting may have good intentions, its effects may hinder autonomous development in emerging adults. Collecting empirical data from 128 college students, we found that overparenting significantly predicted insecure parental attachment, lower self-efficacy, and higher depression and anxiety.