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The association between helicopter parenting and college freshmen’s depression: Insights from a cross-sectional study

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Abstract

Existing research has demonstrated that college freshmen sometimes experience notable depression, and a significant correlation has been observed between depressive state and helicopter parenting. However, the precise mechanisms through which helicopter parenting influences depression in college freshmen remain unclear. To elucidate these pathways, this study enlisted 931 college freshmen who participated in a comprehensive survey. The survey instruments included questionnaires that assessed helicopter parenting, short video addiction, the fear of missing out (FoMO), and depression. We examined the relationship between helicopter parenting and depression using analytical techniques developed by Hayes (2013). The findings revealed that helicopter parenting is intimately linked to depression among college freshmen. This association manifests not only as a direct correlation, but also as an indirect aggravation of depressive symptoms mediated by short video addiction and FoMO. While helicopter parenting is associated with short video addiction and depression, as well as FoMO, its primary association is with FoMO and depression, rather than with short video addiction. This study enhanced our understanding of the detrimental effects of helicopter parenting, clarified its relationship with depression, and offered valuable guidance for mitigating depressive symptoms in college students affected by helicopter parenting. For college freshmen, maintaining autonomy, reducing reliance on short videos, and adopting a more rational approach to anxiety triggered by missed positive events can be effective strategies for alleviating depression, especially in the context of controlling helicopter parenting. Nevertheless, given the cross-sectional nature of this study, caution is warranted when interpreting the causal relationship between helicopter parenting and depression among college freshmen.

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The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This study was supported by Quality Engineering Project of Anhui Provincial (2022zygzts121), Quality Engineering Project of Wannan Medical College (2022jbgs13), Quality Engineering Project for Educating People in the New Era of Anhui Provincial (Postgraduate Education) (2022lhpysfjd065), the University Science Research Project of Anhui Provincial Department of Education (Grants Nos. 2022AH030119; SK2021A0465) and Doctoral research start-up project of Wannan Medical College (WYRCQD2022030).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China

    Lu Li & Xiangping Liu

  2. Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Beijing, China

    Lu Li & Xiangping Liu

  3. Center for Psychological Health Education of College, Student Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

    Xin Ma

  4. Anhui Provincial College Student Mental Health Education Research Center, School of Humanities and Management, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, China

    Zijian Yao, Linpu Feng & Long Huang

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  1. Lu Li
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Correspondence to Linpu Feng or Long Huang.

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Lu Li: Methodology, Writing-original draft. Long Huang: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing. Xin Ma and Zijian Yao: data collection. Xiangping Liu: Conceptualization. Linpu Feng: Writing - review & editing.

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of Academic Ethics Committee of Wannan Medical College and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Li, L., Ma, X., Liu, X. et al. The association between helicopter parenting and college freshmen’s depression: Insights from a cross-sectional study. Curr Psychol 43, 19446–19456 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-05770-7

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