Parent Engagement

One aspect of today’s “emerging adult” college students is the increased amount of parent involvement in their decision making throughout college. Although parent involvement will vary by student, it is important to consider that literature that has uncovered a trend of students engaging at higher rates with their parents when making decisions in college, and parents’ general involvement in their students’ college lives.

Below is a sample of further reading in the literature about parent involvement. Consider collaborating with an office of parent relations or otherwise finding ways to communicate with parents in a way that will find a balance between the important support and encouragement of parents and students’ self-efficacy, independence and personal & academic development.

NACADA provides further reading on their website as well:

Cullaty, B. (2011). The Role of Parental Involvement in the Autonomy Development of Traditional-Age College Students. Journal Of College Student Development, 52(4), 425-439.

Abstract 

Increased parental involvement in higher education has led to a rise in the number of parent interactions with university faculty and staff. The purpose of this study was to explore how parental involvement influences the process of college student autonomy development and to examine the implications of this process for college administrators. Data were collected from 18 participants through three semistructured interviews and two journal entries. The results suggest the importance of parents maintaining supportive involvement instead of intervening, establishing adult-to-adult relationships with college-age children, relinquishing unnecessary control, and fostering responsibility.

Harper, C. E., Sax, L. J., & Wolf, D. S. (2012). The Role of Parents in College Students’ Sociopolitical Awareness, Academic, and Social Development. Journal Of Student Affairs Research And Practice, 49(2), 137-156.

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between parental contact (frequency of student-parent communication) and involvement (parents’ interest and/or involvement in students’ academic progress and decision-making) with college students’ personal, social, and academic development. Parental involvement accounted for over two-thirds of the significant relationships detected, most of which were positive. Parental contact produced only 10 significant relationships, half of which were negative. The results also reveal conditional effects by race, gender, social class, and year in college.

LeMoyne, T. & Buchanan, T. (2011). Does ‘Hovering’ Matter? Helicopter Parents and its Effect on Well-Being. Sociological Spectrum: Mid-South Sociological Association, 31(4).  Available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02732173.2011.574038

Abstract

The phenomenon popularly referred to as helicopter parenting refers to an overinvolvement of parents in their children’s lives. This concept has typically been used to describe parents of college-aged young adults. Despite much anecdotal evidence, little is known about its existence and consequences from an empirical perspective. Using a sample of college students at a university in the United States (N ¼ 317), the exploration and measurement of this concept is examined. Results of factor analysis of helicopter parenting items constructed for this study support the use of the scale. Results suggest helicopter parenting is negatively related to psychological well-being and positively related to prescription medication use for anxiety=depression and the recreational consumption of pain pills.

Pizzolato, J. E. & Hicklen, S. (2011). Parent Involvement: Investigating the Parent-Child Relationship in Millennial College Students. Journal of College Student Development 52(6), 671-686. Johns Hopkins University Press. Retrieved April 21, 2018, from Project MUSE database.

Abstract

There is evidence of a surge in parent involvement in postsecondary education, and some scholarship suggests that this high level of parent involvement may inhibit epistemological development. Despite these claims, there is little empirical evidence on the level or impact of parent involvement during the college years. The aim of this research was to understand the level and type of college student initiated parent involvement. Results suggest that, although the majority of participants did not involve their parents indecision making, many participants did, but the type of parent involvement ranged from confrontation to thinking about parental expectations.

Turner, E. A. & Chandler, M. & Heffer, R. W. (2009). The Influence of Parenting Styles, Achievement Motivation, and Self-Efficacy on Academic Performance in College Students. Journal of College Student Development 50(3), 337-346. Johns Hopkins University Press. Retrieved April 21, 2018, from Project MUSE database.

Abstract

Parenting styles have consistently been shown to relate to various outcomes such as youth psychopathology, behavior problems, and academic performance. Building on the research in the parenting style literature, along with examining components of self-determination theory, the present study examined the relations among authoritative parenting style, academic performance, self-efficacy, and achievement motivation using a sample of college students (N= 264) . Results indicated that authoritative parenting continues to influence the academic performance of college students, and both intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy predicted academic performance. Additionally, the study tested the interaction between self-efficacy and authoritative parenting, but the interaction was not significant. Implications for future research and applications are discussed.

Wartman, K. L., & Savage, M. (2008). Parental Involvement in Higher Education: Understanding the Relationship among Students, Parents, and the Institution. ASHE Higher Education Report, Volume 33, Number 6. ASHE Higher Education Report, 33(6), 1-125

This monograph is divided into three main sections: theoretical grounding, student identity, and implications. The first section, theoretical grounding of parental involvement, looks at the reasons parents today are more likely to be involved in their students’ lives and then reviews the literature of K-12 education and compares that information with what exists on the transition to college and higher education. It considers the current student development and higher education literature and the tension that exists between them with regard to separation-individuation and attachment theory. This section goes on to look at the institution’s role in the relationship between college students and parents and how it has shifted over time. It also specifically considers the question of whether college students are children or adults, as this perspective affects the definition of the parent-student relationship. The second section takes into account the individual variables of student identity that may affect the relationship between parents and students. It reviews the literature on parent-student relationships in terms of the effects of gender, race, and socioeconomic class, paying particular attention to parents’ educational level and focusing on first-generation students. It also examines the literature, particularly from K-12 education, that shows that parents’ participation in schooling varies by social class. This section looks at research showing that support and encouragement are key factors in the literature on college access, which indicates that the level of support for attending college seems to be inextricably linked with social class. In considering the parent-student relationship and college access, this section also looks at upper-middle-class students and their approach to the college admissions process, especially at highly selective institutions. These students have involved parents who want their child to attend the “best college” and often serve as the source of pressure for students in the admissions process because of their desire for a return on their investment, both the future investment from tuition dollars and the past financial cost of raising a child. The final section comprises implications for both policy and practice. It includes the history of and current frameworks for parent relations programs. Increasingly, colleges and universities are debating the value and the cost of providing services and programming for the parents of their students. Data from studies conducted in 2005 and 2007 show that schools that provide parent services are expanding their efforts beyond one or two annual events to include regular communications, dispersal of student development information, inclusion of parents as members of advisory groups and as volunteers or mentors, and solicitation of funds. This section looks at ways that parents have been included in the discussion as schools address significant campus issues such as student drinking, physical and mental health, finances, career development, campus safety, and preparation for off-campus living. This section also provides information on how institutions provide information to parents as a way to deliver or reinforce important messages to students. This publication concludes with recommendations for administrators in higher education as well as student development faculty. It also suggests areas for further research. The appendix includes literature and Web-based resources for those looking for more information on the topic of parental involvement in higher education. 

Wolf, D. S., Sax, L., & Harper, C. E. (2009). Parental Engagement and Contact in the Academic Lives of College Students. Journal Of Student Affairs Research And Practice, 46(2), 455-488.

Information on the various forms of parental involvement in higher education is lacking. This paper investigates parental engagement in college students’ academic lives, the mode and frequency of student-parent communications, and how all of this varies across different student populations (by race/ethnicity, social class, parental immigrant status, gender, and year in school). Drawing from the 2006 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey (UCUES), results revealed parental contact and engagement in college students’ academics to be greatest among women, freshmen, and wealthy/upper middle-class students. Comparisons by race, ethnicity, and parental immigration status revealed above-average levels of parental contact among Mexican American, Latino/Other Spanish, Japanese/Japanese American, American Indian/Alaska Native students, and students of foreign-born parents, but below-average ratings of parental engagement in these same students’ academic lives.