Helicopter parenting, autonomy support, and young adults’ psychological adjustment in Turkey: the mediating role of psychological control

Abstract

This study examined the relations from helicopter parenting and autonomy-supportive parenting to Turkish emerging adults’ psychological adjustment (depression, anxiety, and stress levels), using parental psychological control as a mediating mechanism. The participants included 457 emerging adults aged between 17 and 27 (M = 20.47, SD = 1.90) who filled out a self-report questionnaire on their parents’ helicopter parenting, autonomy-supportive parenting, psychological control, and their depression, anxiety, and stress levels. Path analyses were performed to test the hypotheses. The findings displayed that there were indirect links from helicopter parenting and autonomy-supportive parenting to emerging adults’ psychological adjustment through parental psychological control in a relatively collectivistic Turkish cultural context. Results indicated that parents who engage in developmentally inappropriate over-involvement in their children’s lives may also use psychological control to maintain or strengthen their control over their children. Furthermore, parents’ autonomy support may be related to a decrease in their tendency to use psychological control, which in turn results in better psychological adjustment.