Helicopter Parenting, Parental Modeling, Self-Regulation, and Emerging Adults’ Volunteerism: Examining the Moderating Effect of Income

• In Event: Poster Session 04
  In Poster Session: PS 04 Topic - Moral Development

Abstract

Helicopter parenting (HP; i.e., overprotective parenting) has been found to undermine altruism and increase self-promoting prosocial behaviors in emerging adults (McGinley, 2018). One potential mechanism for these relations may be self-regulation (SR). Overprotective parents may stifle their child’s autonomy by taking control of their child’s challenges and decision-making, thus limiting their child’s opportunities to regulate their own behavior (Segrin et al., 2015). SR facilitates behavior that requires behavioral commitments related to moral motivations (Rest, 1983, Carlo et al., 2012; Memmott-Elison et al., 2020). Supporting this idea, Moilanen and Manuel (2019) reported an indirect link among emerging adult HP, SR, and global prosocial behaviors. However, less is known regarding the relation of multiple dimensions of HP to these outcomes. Information seeking, an identified component of HP (Luebbe et al., 2018), may share qualities similar to behavioral control. The current study sought to understand the relations between two dimensions of HP (autonomy limiting, information seeking), SR, and volunteerism.
Additionally, parenting dimensions may function differentially across contexts. For example, Romm et al. (2020) found that behavioral control increased risky behavior only in high SES emerging adults. Others have found that “no-nonsense” approaches to parenting may serve a protective effect in low SES families (Halgunseth et al., 2006; Hill, 2006). Thus, another goal of the study was to examine whether dimensions of parenting are moderated by parental income. A final goal was to examine whether parent-reported volunteering continued to promote child-reported volunteering during emerging adulthood.
Undergraduates (N = 296, 80.0% female, 63.2% White, Mage = 18.58) and their closest parent completed a battery of measures. Parent and teen self-reported volunteering, HP subscales (information seeking and autonomy limiting; Luebbe et al., 2018), and parents’ income were assessed. Teens also self-reported their self-regulation (ASRI; Moilanen, 2007).
In the Teen-Report Model (Table 1) teen-reported autonomy limiting negatively predicted SR, which in turn positively predicted teen volunteerism. An indirect effect among teen-reported autonomy limiting, SR, and teen volunteerism was found (95% C.I.: -.130, -.034). Teen volunteerism was also positively predicted by parent volunteerism and teen-reported information seeking. The teen-reported parental income and autonomy limiting interaction suggested that the negative relationship between autonomy limiting and SR was weaker at lower levels of income than higher levels (see Table 1 note). In the Parent-Report Model (Table 2) parent-reported autonomy limiting negatively predicted SR, which in turn positively predicted teen volunteerism. An indirect effect among parent-reported autonomy limiting, SR, and teen volunteerism was found (95% C.I.: -.073, -.001). Teen volunteerism was also positively predicted by parent volunteerism and parent-reported information seeking. The parent-reported income x information seeking interaction suggested that the relationship between income and SR was positive and significant at lower levels of information seeking, but not at higher levels (see Table 2 note). Discussion will focus on the differential relations among subtypes of HP and SR and volunteerism, the contextualizing role of income on the relations between HP and SR, and the continued influence of parental modeling on emerging adults’ moral development.

Authors

• Meredith A McGinley, University of Wisconsin - Parkside
  Presenting Author

• Mary B Eberly Lewis, Oakland University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Wendy M Rote, University of South Florida
  Non-Presenting Author

• Justin Jeramiah Slater, Oakland University
  Non-Presenting Author