The Effect of Over-Parenting on College Adjustment: Family Support and Protective Buffering for U.S. Domestic and Chinese International Students

• In Event: HIGH-DENSITY: Communicating in and About Families

Abstract

Over-parenting, a growing phenomenon of overinvolved and protective parents, has long-lasting negative effects on children. This study surveyed 430 first-year undergraduate students in the United States and 95 international first-year students from China studying in the U.S. to test mediators (i.e., family support and protective buffering) that explain the relationship between over-parenting and adjustment to college. Over-parenting was primarily indirectly and negatively related to adjustment outcomes through family support and protective buffering, though direct effects were found in two cases for Chinese international students. This study also identifies that students (especially Chinese students) differentiate between evaluative and descriptive questions about over-parenting. Implications for family and intercultural communication scholars are discussed along with practical implications for families of college students and college adjustment professionals.

Authors

• Elizabeth Dorrance Hall, Michigan State University

• China C Billotte Verhoff, Purdue U

• Cen Yue, U of Florida

• Jenna McNallie, Augsburg University

• Steven Robert Wilson, U of South Florida