Parental involvement in college

An ever-increasing number of high school graduates in the United States now go directly from high school to college. Most are about eighteen years old. In earlier generations, age eighteen and graduation from high school marked a significant milestone: the beginning of adulthood and independence. High school graduates who went to work full-time could be expected to move out of their parents' home and establish independent lives. Today, however, college administrators note that the parents of many college students remain deeply involved with their children. Many parents report talking to college-age students by phone two to three times a week, sometimes daily, sometimes several times each day. Parents inquire most often about academics, followed by finances and health and safety. One important driver of parent involvement is the fact that many parents today take on significant financial responsibility for their children's higher education. Psychologists wonder whether a new social phenomenon is at work: the advancement of adulthood to age twenty-two, or even beyond. Does parental involvement with college students suggest the delayed maturity of students, a refusal by parents to let go of parenthood and allow their offspring to live independently, or other factors altogether?

Understanding the Discussion

Adulthood: In the United States, a minor becomes a legal adult at the age of eighteen. Generally speaking, young people under 18 are restricted from driving, voting, purchasing alcohol, and signing legal documents and contracts, and are legally required to attend school.

Empty-nest syndrome: Feelings of psychological emptiness and unhappiness on the part of parents whose children have moved out of the house. For some parents, these feelings conflict with expectations of being liberated from the responsibility of putting their children's concerns and activities ahead of their own.

Helicopter parents: Parents who hover over their college-student children in such a way that the students do not have the opportunity to make their own decisions.

History

The parents of most college students today are members of the baby boomer generation, or just slightly younger. Just as this generation brought about a myriad of changes in American society, most notably the sharp changes in social norms during the 1960s, observers wonder whether they are now redefining the passage from childhood to adulthood. This question is specifically raised in regard to parents' involvement in the lives of children attending college. If an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old and his or her parents are mutually dependent, just when does adulthood start?

In 2003, almost 65 percent of high school graduates went straight to college, which means that most college freshmen were about eighteen years old. While they will always be the children of their parents, there is some question about whether they are still considered "children" at age eighteen.

The statistical fact that so many high school graduates attend college immediately after high school clearly marks a change in US educational trends. In earlier years, high school was the logical end of education, only a minority attended college, and that minority carried with them a reputation of being the coddled offspring of upper- or upper-middle class parents who could afford to finance an extended adolescence for their children.

During the last half of the twentieth century, this trend began to change. Veterans of World War II received financial help to attend college Servicemen's Readjustment Act, or G.I. Bill. For the first time, college became the norm for young people, bringing about a dramatic change in American social and class structure.

Along with the rise in the number of people continuing education after high school came a change in many parents' attitudes. Whereas age eighteen used to mark the end of school and the start of working life, that moment was now delayed to make time for college.

Parents who might once have expected their children either to move out of the house or to begin contributing to the cost of their room and board after high school were now supporting their children well after high school. To put it another way, parenthood as traditionally defined (providing full support for an offspring) had been extended by four years for a large segment of the population.

The new situation underscored the intersection of parental financial support and control on the one hand, and young adult independence on the other. When adolescents of sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen years old live at home, their relationship with their parents typically remains the same as it was at age six, seven, and eight in at least one important respect: the parents set the rules and try to enforce them. There is a strong cultural sense that paying the costs of room and board gives parents continued authority, whether that authority involves setting rules or being recognized and respected for their wisdom and sought out for advice.

However, some parents become so over-involved with their students' lives on campus that the term "helicopter parents" was coined to describe them. Starting from the admissions process, those parents are on the phone to college administrators and staff, visiting campuses to solve day-to-day problems, and in other ways taking over their children's progress to adulthood. The frequent student-parent communication can aggravate this tendency, because parents intervene to act on issues the student might well be able to resolve on his or her own. Georgia Tech dean of students John Stein says he congratulates parents of new students for their hard work and investment in their children and then reminds them "that it's time to step back and allow their son and daughter to go forth in the world."

Sociologists have studied the issue by surveying the frequency of communications between parents and their college-age children. One survey found that 74 percent of parents communicated with their children two or three times a week; 20 percent communicated about once a week; 4 percent communicated two to three times a month; and just one percent communicated less than monthly. Hidden within these figures were some parents who reported communicating two to three times per day with their college students, almost always by cell phone.

In another survey, conducted in 2006 by the College Parents of America, one in three parents reported that they communicate in some way with their students one or more times each day. Overall, 82 percent of parents who themselves had gone to college said they were either "more involved" or "much more involved" than their own parents had been.

Parents on College Campus Today

Some colleges have established programs intended to welcome and encourage parental involvement. In part, these programs stem from ongoing concerns about how effectively students adapt to an independent lifestyle in college, as well as the college dropout rate.

For colleges, students represent tuition-paying customers. Programs that help to reduce drop-out rates are thought of as "customer retention," and keeping customers makes the college a going concern without fear of diminishing its reputation or reducing its resources. Nearly 90 percent of respondents to the College Parents of America survey said they have attended a parent orientation on campus, and three-quarters said that they visit the campus at least once or twice each semester. Parents, the survey reports, are most concerned about academics, followed by finances, and then by career planning and health and safety issues.

A twenty-first century reason for parents' frequent communication with students may be their alarm regarding reports of violent incidents on college campuses. The April 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., left 30 dead and untold numbers of anxious parents around the country. An article that appeared shortly after the tragic event advised parents on ways to reduce stress and recommended that they teach their children to report suspected crimes and learn the signs of potential violence. Another article, by campus safety expert Tom Nelson, encourages parents to check out safety issues during pre-enrollment campus visits, including talking with current students about whether they feel safe on campus and checking the school's record in a national campus crime database.

Some social psychologists studying the issue have suggested that today's parents have found a new way to cope with "empty nest" syndrome, delaying the day when their offspring are truly independent by continuing to treat their college-age students as children. Other explanations for changed parental behavior point to the importance some families place on attending college, and specifically on gaining admission to the "right" or "best" schools. Having obsessed over this issue for years and years, parents may feel that the college experience belongs as much to them as to their children. For other parents, the expense of a college education may absorb a large part of their resources, and they are concerned also with how well their investment is being used.

Whether parental involvement with their college-age students will have a lasting social impact, and what the impact might be, is not known; the phenomenon is too new.

These essays and any opinions, information or representations contained therein are the creation of the particular author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of EBSCO Information Services.

Bibliography

Books

Koslow, Sally. Slouching toward Adulthood: Observations from the Not-So-Empty Nest. New York: Viking, 2012. Print.

Raskin, Robin. Parents’ Guide to College Life: Straight Answers to Everything You Can Expect over the Next Four Years. New York: Princeton Rev., 2006. Print.

Periodicals

Boyle, Jennifer R., and Bradley O. Boekeloo. “Perceived Parental Approval of Drinking and Its Impact on Problem Drinking Behaviors among First-Year College Students.” Journal of American College Health 54.4 (2006): 238–44. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Dec. 2006. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=19408461&site=ehost-live.

Brinckerhoff, Loring C. “Making the Transition to Higher Education: Opportunities for Student Empowerment.” Journal of Learning Disabilities 29.2 (1996): 118–36. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Dec. 2006. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9603204088&site=ehost-live.

Bruno, Debra. “Parents, Quit the Hovering.” USA Today 17 June 2008: 9A. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 June 2009. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=J0E009490788008&site=ehost-live.

Bylund, Carma L., Rebecca S. Imes, and Leslie A. Baxter. “Accuracy of Parents’ Perceptions of Their College Student Children’s Health and Health Risk Behaviors.” Journal of American College Health 54.1 (2005): 31–37. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Dec. 2006. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=17940995&site=ehost-live.

Byrd, Kathleen L., and Ginger MacDonald. “Defining College Readiness from the Inside Out: First-Generation College Student Perspectives.” Community College Review 33.1 (2005): 22–37. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Dec. 2006. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=18330349&site=ehost-live.

Cleaver, Samantha. “Meet the Micro-Managers.” Instructor Nov.–Dec. 2008: 30–36. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 June 2009. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=35301211&site=ehost-live.

Condeni, Karen P. “Navigators of Today: College Parents.” Journal of College Admission 216 (2012): 31–32. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=94763084&site=ehost-live.

Gerdes, Eugenia Proctor. “Valuing Parents.” Change 36.5 (2004): 60–61. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Dec. 2006. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=14414021&site=ehost-live.

Gonzalez, Alyssa, Gordon Greenwood, and Jin WenHsu. “Undergraduate Students’ Goal Orientations and Their Relationship to Perceived Parenting Styles.” College Student Journal 35.2 (2001): 182–92. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Dec. 2006. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=5010941&site=ehost-live.

Johnson, Helen E. “Educating Parents about College Life.” Chronicle of Higher Education 9 Jan. 2004: B11–12. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Dec. 2006. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=11967800&site=ehost-live.

Marcus, Dave. “College Orientation Helps Parents Let Go.” Newsday [Melville, NY] 2 Aug. 2010: n. pag. Newspaper Source. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=2W63739374415&site=ehost-live.

Oberhauser, Ann M. “College Students’ Use of Electronic Communication with Parents: Links to Loneliness, Attachment, and Relationship Quality.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 14.1–2 (2011): 71–74. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=58458750&site=ehost-live.

Schiffrin, Holly H., et al. “Helping or Hovering? The Effects of Helicopter Parenting on College Students’ Well-Being.” Journal of Child and Family Studies 23.3 (2014): 548–57. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=94763084&site=ehost-live.

Vianden, Jörg, and Jeff T. Ruder. “‘Our Best Friend Is Moving Away’: Exploring Parent Transition and Involvement during Their Student’s First Year in College.” Journal of College and University Student Housing 38.2 (2012): 62–77. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=88056453&site=ehost-live.

White, Wendy S. “Students, Parents, Colleges: Drawing the Lines.” Chronicle of Higher Education 16 Dec. 2005: B16. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Dec. 2006. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=19190282&site=ehost-live.

Websites

American Psychological Association. “Stress Management Tips for Parents of College Students in the Aftermath of the Virginia Tech Shootings.” APA Help Center. Amer. Psychological Assn., 2007. Web. 8 Jan. 2009. http://apahelpcenter.org/articles/article.php?id=153.

Fortin, Judy. “Hovering Parents Need to Step Back at College Time.” CNN.com. Cable News Network, 4 Feb. 2008. Web. 9 Jan. 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/family/02/04/hm.helicopter.parents/index.html.

Nelson, Tom. “Conversation with a College Campus Safety Expert.” CollegeView. Hobsons, n.d. Web. 9 Jan. 2009. http://www.collegeview.com/articles/CV/campuslife/conversation.html.

“Survey of Current College Parent Experiences.” College Parents of America. Coll. Parents of Amer., 30 Mar. 2006. Web. 8 Jan. 2009. http://www.collegeparents.org/files/Current-Parent-Survey-Summary.pdf.