Helicopter Parenting and First-Semester Students’ Adjustment to College: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

In this study, we examined the relationship between helicopter parenting and first-semester students’ (N = 211) adjustment to college. It was hypothesized that first-semester students who report higher amounts of helicopter parenting would also report higher levels of basic psychological need frustration and lower levels of educational, relational, and psychological functioning. Results of a structural regression model suggested that helicopter parenting had negative indirect associations with educational, relational, and psychological functioning through competence frustration. Helicopter parenting also had a negative indirect association with psychological functioning through autonomy frustration. No significant indirect associations were found through relatedness frustration. Findings from our study highlight the particular importance of both autonomy and competence needs as potential mechanisms through which helicopter parenting might negatively impact students’ optimal functioning and well-being during their transition to college.