A recent study from McGill University and UCLA suggests that freshmen who grew up with overprotective parents are more likely to experience heightened anxiety when transitioning to university. This finding sheds light on the potential long-term effects of parental behaviors on young adults.
First-year students stepping onto university campuses, a milestone often filled with excitement and potential, may find their experiences clouded by anxiety — especially if they grew up with overprotective parents.
Researchers from McGill University and the University of California, Los Angeles, have discovered a striking correlation between students’ upbringing and their ability to handle the stresses associated with transitioning to university life.
The study, published in the journal Development and Psychopathology, involved 240 first-year McGill students who completed extensive questionnaires within the first six weeks of fall semester.
These questionnaires measured various factors: the parenting style they experienced, current anxiety levels, and the types of stressors they faced during this pivotal period, ranging from housing issues to personal losses.
“We found that students whose parents are very protective experience a stronger link between exposure to stressful events and feelings of anxiety,” lead author Lidia Panier, a doctoral candidate in McGill’s Department of Psychology, said in a news release.
The research team highlighted that while their findings do not definitively prove that overprotective parenting directly causes anxiety, the results align with existing research that suggests over-controlling parental behaviors may contribute to insecure attachment and poorer emotion regulation in children.
“Previous findings show that overprotective parenting leads to insecure attachment and poorer emotion regulation, both of which are linked to greater vulnerability to anxiety,” Panier added.
Moreover, Panier noted that overprotective parenting might stem from parents’ responses to their child’s inherent anxious tendencies, creating a complex interplay of behaviors and reactions.
“These interpretations are not mutually exclusive,” she explained. “A bi-directional dynamic where child behaviors influence parenting, which then affects child development, is also well-supported in the literature.”
This study opens new avenues for future research on how best to support young adults experiencing anxiety during such life transitions. Panier envisions examining whether supportive peer relationships in the university setting could bolster resilience among students who had overprotective upbringings.
“It would be interesting to see if these patterns can change over time, such as whether supportive peer relationships in university can help young adults become more resilient, even if they experienced overprotective parenting,” said Panier.
Source: McGill University