Helicopter Parenting and Alcohol Use in Adolescence: A Quadratic Relation

Overview

Journal Nordisk Alkohol Nark

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2022 Jun 27

PMID 35757090

Authors

Jessica Pistella

Stefano Isolani

Mara Morelli

Flavia Izzo

Roberto Baiocco

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Research has underscored that an excessively intrusive parental style, defined as helicopter parenting, could be a risk factor for maladaptive behaviours in youth, including alcohol use and drug consumption. However, such at-risk behaviours have also been associated with low levels of parental involvement and warmth. Thus, the relationship between parental involvement and at-risk behaviours in adolescents is not clear. The purpose of the current study was to identify the relation between helicopter parenting and alcohol use in a sample of Italian youth. The participants were 402 adolescents (233 female) between the ages of 14 and 19 years ( = 17.20, = 1.66). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine linear, quadratic, and exponential models and to verify which model best described the correlation. The results showed a quadratic correlation between mothers' helicopter parenting and alcohol use, whereby higher and lower levels of mothers' helicopter parenting were associated with adolescents' alcohol use. The empirical data are essential for improving our understanding of the implications and potential outcomes of helicopter parenting during adolescence.

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