Typologies of Maternal and Paternal Helicopter Parenting and Intimacy Goals in Dating

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the types of helicopter parenting among college students, and to examine how the identified types of helicopter parenting are associated with intimacy goals in dating. In order to investigate these purposes, 202 college students were recruited and analyzed. With the use of Mplus 7.4, a latent profile analysis identified latent profiles of helicopter parenting. Additionally, multivariate regression analysis was conducted in order to analyze the links between the types of helicopter parenting and intimacy goals in dating by using SPSS 26.0. The main findings of the study were as follows. Firstly, three helicopter parenting classes were identified: 1) strong decision-making, 2) strong helicopter parenting, 3) weak helicopter parenting. Secondly, college students in the strong helicopter parenting class reported significantly higher levels of intimacy goals in dating than those in the strong decision-making class. On the other hand, no significant connection was identified between the type of 'weak helicopter parenting' and the levels of intimacy goals in dating, referencing the type of 'strong helicopter parenting.' These results indicate that helicopter parenting has a certain number of types in nature, and the control-based parental behavior could have an impact on college students' intimacy goals in dating.