RESUMEN
Recognizing the various negative consequences of overparenting for the child such as poor mental health and relationship quality and delayed transition to full adulthood, this study examined to what extent parents of emerging adults were being responsive and tailoring their parenting practices to meet their child's characteristics, such as need for autonomy and trait autonomy. Survey data from 256 parent-emerging adult child dyads were used for analyses. The results showed that parent-reported overparenting was not associated with child-reported autonomy features. Nevertheless, parents engaged in lower levels of tangible assistance and higher levels of advice/affect management if they perceived their child as high in autonomy need or trait autonomy. Collectively, these findings suggest that parents might practice overparenting out of their own desires and needs rather than taking into account their child's developmental needs and traits. Practical recommendations for family therapists are offered.
RESUMEN
Research shows that overparenting (a.k.a. helicopter parenting) is associated with many child issues, among which disrupted mental health is one of the most consistently observed. The present study aims to examine if open family communication and child trait autonomy alter the associations between overparenting and emerging adult children's general self-efficacy, environmental mastery, anxiety, and depression. Cross-sectional data were collected from college students (N = 442, M age = 20.28 years, SD = 1.48) in the United States. Results showed that open family communication strengthened the negative association between overparenting and environmental mastery, and trait autonomy weakened the negative association between overparenting and general self-efficacy. None of these two moderators altered the associations between overparenting and child anxiety and depression. The effects of open family communication and trait autonomy in a controlling context are discussed. Overall, notwithstanding the moderation effects observed from open family communication and trait autonomy, the findings suggest that the effects of overparenting might be difficult to buffer.