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International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 8, Issue 6, June 2018 378
ISSN 2250-3153
http://dx.doi.org/10.29322/IJSRP.8.6.2018.p7849 www.ijsrp.org
Helicopter Parenting And Psychological Consequences
Among Adolescent
Charles Ganaprakasam, Kavitha Sri Davaidass, Sivan Chandiran Muniandy
Faculty of Education, University of Malaya
Corresponding author:ganaprakasamcharles@gmail.com
DOI: 10.29322/IJSRP.8.6.2018.p7849
http://dx.doi.org/10.29322/IJSRP.8.6.2018.p7849
Abstract: Gaining independence from various restriction set by parents is overjoy for adolescent. However, it does not always happen
as it planned. Helicopter parenting referred to the excessive engagement of parents similar like hovering around their children to
rescue from hazardous and preventing them from experiencing failure. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of
helicopter parenting on adolescent’s mental health and self-efficacy for learning. Helicopter Parenting Questionnaire (LeMoyneve
Buchanan, 2011), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), and self-efficacy for learning scale (Schwarzer and Jerusalem, 1995) has
been utilized in this study to collected data from respondents. Overall, the result of the study suggested that helicopter parenting
triggered disruptive on adolescent’s mental health and associated negatively towards self-efficacy for learning. Therefore, this study
concluded that adolescents has their own uniqueness thus protecting them excessively without allowing them to explore the world
independently would disrupt the nature of their development and consequently would lead to behavior and psychological
maladjustment.
Keyword: helicopter parenting, adolescent, mental health, self-efficacy
1.0 Introduction
The purpose of this study is to examine the role of helicopter parenting on self-efficacy, and mental health among adolescent. The
current situation illustrated that parenting style almost influence every part of adolescent life style (Padilla-Walker, Nelson, 2012)
including decision making, making friends, and choosing clothes. Helicopter parenting described as overprotective parent who
protects their children from facing any difficulties and prepared a set of instruction for their children to follow without considering
their uniqueness.
Helicopter parents according to Hirsch & Goldberger (2010) is a process of distinctive parenting that never allowed their children to
make mistakes and trapped in the cave of stress. They were constantly nurturing children the adequate support to solve problem
without provides space for them to developed problem solving and decision making skills. These overprotective parents are
authoritative in deciding the present and future action of children without teaching and demonstrating adequate skills to make them
independence (LeMoyne, Buchnan, 2011).
In western culture this notion of helicopter parenting has been receiving numerous controversial debates in between psychologist,
school teachers, and parents. The idea of helicopter parenting first described by Dr.Haim Ginott’s on 1966 in his book named Parents
& Teenagers. He said parents of teenagers hover like helicopter to carefully observe every inch of their children movement. This
controversial yet popular notion of parenting term just received huge attention among psychologist after several decades. So many
terms that seems identical with helicopter parenting such as lawnmower, bulldozer, and cosseting was used to describe this
phenomenon. Carolyn Ditch, the head of Centre for the Treatment of Anxiety Disorder articulated that helicopter parenting is
emerging type of parenting that extremely watch over the every inch of development of their children without allow permission to
grow independently.
International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 8, Issue 6, June 2018 379
ISSN 2250-3153
http://dx.doi.org/10.29322/IJSRP.8.6.2018.p7849 www.ijsrp.org
Studies have been proved that helicopter parenting has capability to triggered anxiety among adolescent in school as well as in college
(Lythcott-Haims, 2015). Researcher has found that parents who strictly decides the routine of the child promotes the feeling of
dependence and found to be very anxious that severely affect their academic attainment. According to Vinson (2013) helicopter
parenting can be seen in every culture around the globe. Various factors such as media and internet influence very critically regarding
the parenting ways due to the constant transformation of family and world trending (Wesner, Tammy, 2008).
Helicopter parenting is found to be very usual practice in Asia. Bringing their children to kindergarten and primary school are very
common in our country. It is found to be very common too for parents to take leave on their child examination day and has so much of
patience to wait at school until the examination is over. This phenomenon is likely to continue after their child entered the zone of
adolescent and found to be surprised students accompanied by their parents during the first day in college. In connection with
declining family size as one-child family explained this situation precisely. Parents of one-child family spending enough time to hover
overhead to watch and protect their child.
Literature suggested that helicopter parenting affected children lives psychologically (Segrin, Woszidlo, Givertz, Bauer, Murphy;
2013). Parents have been very ambitious and restructuring almost every time the path should travel by their children. Their overactive
parenting leads them automatically the highest thought of expectation on their children. In order to make sure their child reach their
expectation, parents willing move any extends it may lead. Parent’s excessive level of involvement in their child daily life makes
them vulnerable to develop the sense of dependability. According to Segrin and Givertz (2013), over protective parenting leads to
poor child-parents relationship. Poor child-parents relationship resulted in over expectation of parents thus burdening them with
excessive activities without giving them enough time to express them. As stated by Lemoyne and Buchanan (2011) children raised by
overprotective parents susceptible towards undergone medical attention for anxiety and depression.
2.0 Problem Statement
Globally, around 450 million of individuals suffered from mental health difficulties. Surprisingly, more than 10 to 20 million of
peoples have committed suicide due to the various mental issues. Significantly, mental health and suicide currently on alarming rate
among adolescents in Malaysia. The numbers of mental health issues among teenagers displayed quite high. The prevalence of mental
health problems among adults increased from 10.7% in 1996, to 11.2% in 2006, to 29.2% in 2015. Besides that, data revealed that
every 3 in 10 adults aged 16 years and above have some sorts of mental health problems (29.2%). In the next few years mental health
issues is likely to become the most critical element in creating devastating effect on individual well-being if left unnoticed.
Several methods of prevention and intervention has been proposed such as promoting mental health screening program to secondary
school students and media effort to increasing the awareness concerning the rising cases of mental related problem. However, there is
still a need for analyzing the trigger factor towards this rising phenomenon. There is very limited study on investigating the role of
parenting style on psychological consequence among adolescent in Malaysia. Therefore, present study intended to shed light on over-
protective parenting on predicting mental health and self-efficacy for learning among adolescent.
Objective of this study is to:
1. To investigated the effect of helicopter parenting on mental health among adolescent.
2. To investigated the relationship between helicopter parenting and self-efficacy for learning among adolescent.
Based on these, two hypotheses were formulated:
1. Helicopter parenting is a significant predictor of mental health among adolescent.
2. Helicopter parenting has significant correlation on self-efficacy for learning among adolescent.
International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 8, Issue 6, June 2018 380
ISSN 2250-3153
http://dx.doi.org/10.29322/IJSRP.8.6.2018.p7849 www.ijsrp.org
3.0 Method
3.1 Participants
The sample of this study involved adolescent from community based catechism school located at northern part of Peninsular
Malaysia. The age range of respondent was from 15 to 17 years old. The sampling frame is composed of the total enrollment for the
targeted classes (N= 96). After the elimination of incomplete surveys the final sample consists of 96 students, resulting in a response
rate of 94.7%.
Table 1.0: Basic Demographic of Students
Age
Frequency
Percent (%)
15 years old
36
36.4
16 years old
25
26.0
17 years old
35
36.4
Gender
Male
47
48.9
Female
49
51.0
Living Context
urban
76
79.2
Rural
20
20.8
3.2 Instruments
Researcher gathered data by utilized survey instruments which contained four sections. Section one comprised socio-demographic
elements such as respondent age, ethnicity, and living context. Section two contained Helicopter Parenting Scale (HPS). This scale
was proposed and developed by LeMoyne and Buchanan (2011). The respondents were asked their level of agreement with statements
relating to their experience with their parents while growing up. Section three comprised General self-efficacy for learning scale
proposed by Schwarzer and Jerusalem (1995). This scale consists 10 items that measured student’s capability to achieving academic
related task. Section four comprised 12 items measured mental health. Each item is rated on a four-point scale (less than usual, no
more than usual, rather more than usual, or much more than usual)
3.3 Procedure
Researcher obtained permission from church authority to gathered data from respondent. After obtained permission, researcher
requested assistance of the catechism class supervisor to gathered respondent in school hall. All the respondents were informed the
aim of this study and gained signature in their consent form. Additionally, respondent were informed that their data and identity
would be confidential and be used only for research purpose. Finally they were given standard instructions to carry out the research.
The entire instrument filling process took 40 minutes to complete.
3.4 Data Analyze
Data obtained from respondent inserted in Statistical Package of Social Science version 20.0 and analyze using simple linear
regression and Pearson correlation test. Author decided to run simple linear regression analyze due to the appropriateness to
understand the association between one independent (or predictor) variable and one continuous dependent (or outcome) variable.
International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 8, Issue 6, June 2018 381
ISSN 2250-3153
http://dx.doi.org/10.29322/IJSRP.8.6.2018.p7849 www.ijsrp.org
4.0 Result
Based on the above, this current study outcome has presented as follows and discussed in detail about the effect of helicopter
parenting on mental health, and self-efficacy among adolescent.
Table 2.0: Linear Regression Summary of Helicopter Parenting on Mental Health
Dependent Variable
Independent Variable
Std. Coefficient
Beta (β)
Mental health
Helicopter Parenting
0.427*
R2 .513
Adjust R2 .112
Sig. F .27.538*
R - .639a
Note: Significant levels: *p < 0.05
Table 2.0 shows that there was a negative correlation between the two variables, which were confirmed with a Pearson’s correlation
coefficient of -0.639. Simple linear regression was calculated to predict mental health based on helicopter parenting. A significant
regression equation was found (F(1,95) = 27.538, p <.000), with an R² of .513. The result showed that helicopter parenting (beta =
.427, p < .05) was found to contributed significantly to adolescent mental health.
Table 3.0. Correlation Matrix between Variable
Self-efficacy for learning
P –Value
Helicopter Parenting
-.432*
0.05
* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed): Pearson Correlation Coefficient (N = 96)
Pearson’s correlation was used to analyze the correlation between helicopter parenting and self-efficacy for learning. Result showed
that there was a moderate negative correlation between helicopter parenting and self-efficacy for learning, r (96) = -.432, p < .05
which explained that over-protective parenting has possibility to diminish adolescent’s self-efficacy for learning.
5.0 Discussion
In general, the result of present study suggested that helicopter parenting triggered disruptive towards adolescent’s mental health and
associated negatively towards self-efficacy for learning. The finding of the study revealed the destructive outcome of overprotective
parenting on adolescent’s behavior and psychological outcomes. The finding of this study is consistent with previous literatures
(Kouros, Pruitt, Ekas et al.,2017; Segrin, Woszidlo, Givertz, Bauer, Murphy, 2013). Study conducted by Kouros and colleagues
(2017) on 118 undergraduate students founds higher level of overprotective parenting style predicted lower level of well-being among
respondent. Our finding appeared to be well substantiated to explain helicopter parenting that diminishes adolescent capability to
functioning well according to their developmental period.
Finding also revealed that helicopter parenting influence negatively the development of self-efficacy for learning among adolescent.
Our result have a number of similarities with Love & Thomas, 2014; van Ingen et al. 2015. Parent’s interaction and type of parenting
style influence adolescent self-efficacy for learning. As mentioned above, overprotective parents inhibit the capability of being
independence and unintentionally avoid their children to enhance self-confidence. Importantly, study suggested that adolescent who
growing up in very constructive context where their parents explained their expectation clearly under tenet of warmth and conducive
shows greater self-efficacy for learning (Liem et al. 2010). Studies also revealed that children from helicopter parents tend to be very
International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 8, Issue 6, June 2018 382
ISSN 2250-3153
http://dx.doi.org/10.29322/IJSRP.8.6.2018.p7849 www.ijsrp.org
dependent on external instruction and appraisal (Odenweller et al. 2014). Finding of this study concluded that parents ways of
nurturing their children has influence their outcome academically.
6.0 Conclusion
This work leads us to conclude that helicopter parenting lead to disruptive towards adolescent’s mental health and associated
negatively towards self-efficacy for learning among adolescent. Presumably, this overprotective parenting seems good outwardly for
parents and outsiders but produced various ill-intense behavior and psychological issues among adolescents. We have obtained
satisfactory result to prove this trending and destructive parenting style which should abandoned immediately. This finding adds to
growing body of literature and expands our knowledge and understanding regarding the notion of helicopter parenting. Our work
clearly has several limitations to address. The most important limitation lies on sample size. Due to the smaller size we unable to
generalize the finding of this study to the wider population. Therefore, future study should involve many respondents from various
backgrounds such as different ethnic and socioeconomic status. We hope that our research have improve the important of avoiding
such parenting style and uphold balanced parenting with finding happy medium between warmth and discipline. We hope our
research also could be an excellent initial step to parents for nurturing the art of being independent.
Reference
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