Educational identity and maternal helicopter parenting: Moderation by the perceptions of environmental threat

Abstract

AbstractThis four‐wave study examined longitudinal associations between maternal helicopter parenting and college students' educational identity processes over 1 year, as well as the moderating effects of mothers' perceived environmental threats (i.e., uncertainty and competition). Participants were 349 first‐year university students (39.8% male, Mage = 18.20) and their mothers (Mage = 49.10) in Hong Kong. Latent class growth analysis identified two subgroups based on levels of mothers' threat perceptions (i.e., lower vs. higher). Multi‐group random‐intercept cross‐lagged models found that, at the within‐person level, students' reconsideration of educational commitments positively predicted helicopter parenting only for mothers with higher threat perceptions. These findings mainly support youth‐driven effects on overbearing parenting behaviors. Mothers' threat perceptions might exacerbate these excessive responses to youth's academic turbulence.