Shelly Sadek McCoy

Previous research suggests helicopter parenting may be disproportionately associated with lower levels of adjustment during emerging adulthood. However, the size, direction, and significance of the effects of helicopter parenting across different indicators of emerging adult functioning has not been empirically established. Therefore, the purpose of this meta-analytic investigation was to clarify the magnitude of the effect of helicopter parenting across multiple indices of well-being, including: internalizing behaviors (anxiety and depressive symptoms), academic adjustment, self-efficacy and regulatory skills. We also explored whether parent gender moderates these associations. An analysis of 53 studies and 111 effect sizes revealed that helicopter parenting was associated with increased internalizing behaviors and reduced academic adjustment, self-efficacy and regulatory skills. Parent gender did not moderate these associations. The findings are discussed in terms of future directions, particularly the need to identify potential moderators. In conclusion, these findings support recommendations for autonomy-supportive parenting practices during emerging adulthood.

Background: Research on the dimensions of emerging adulthood has disproportionately focused on students from four-year universities. Methods: Using data from the EAMMi2 project (Grahe et al., 2018), we assess whether the dimensions of emerging adulthood (as the age of possibilities, instability, identity explorations, and feeling in-between) vary between four-year university and community college students. We also explore how emerging adults compare on the need to belong and subjective well-being. Results: Four-year university students (N = 1,221) identified more strongly with the negativity/instability and feeling in-between dimensions of emerging adulthood than community college students (N = 300). Community college students, however, were higher on identity exploration, with no differences between the groups in identification with the experimentation/possibilities dimension of emerging adulthood. Four-year students reported higher well-being and higher belonging needs compared to their counterparts at community colleges. Regardless of school type, experimentation/possibilities and feeling in-between predicted higher well-being whereas negativity/instability predicted lower well-being and higher belonging needs. Conclusion: These findings highlight nuance in the experiences of emerging adulthood, as evidenced by both some shared experiences and group-level differences.

Background: Research on the core features of emerging adulthood has disproportionately focused on students from four-year universities. Methods: Using data from the EAMMi2 project (Grahe et al., 2018), we assess whether the core features of emerging adulthood (as the age of possibilities, instability, identity explorations, and feeling in-between) vary between four-year university and community college students. We also explore how emerging adults compare on the need to belong and subjective well-being. Results: Four-year university students (N = 1,221) identified more strongly with the negativity/instability and feeling in-between dimensions of emerging adulthood than community college students (N = 300). Community college students, however, were higher on identity exploration, with no differences between the groups in identification with the experimentation/possibilities feature of emerging adulthood. Four-year students reported higher well-being and higher belonging needs compared to their counterparts at community colleges. Regardless of school type, experimentation/possibilities and feeling in-between predicted higher well-being whereas negativity/instability predicted lower well-being and higher belonging needs. Conclusion: These findings highlight nuance in the experiences of emerging adulthood, as evidenced by both some shared experiences and group-level differences.

This study investigated changes in risk-taking propensity on a behavioral decision-making task as a function of varying social conditions with peers. In contrast to the effects of direct peer influence (pro-risk and anti-risk messages by peers), we included a socially ambiguous context (neutral messages by peers) and a no-peer control (participants alone) as comparison conditions. Using a counterbalanced mixed factorial design, college students (N = 187) completed the Balloon Analogue Risk Task-Youth (BART-Y) twice during two consecutive sessions, including once alone and once with a confederate; the control group completed two sessions of the task alone. The findings showed that, in general, direct pro-risk messages led to the most robust and consistent changes in risk-taking. The findings are discussed in terms of the multidimensional and multidirectional nature of peer influence during the college years.