The effects of academic entitlement and overparenting on stress in college students

Abstract

Stress is an ever-present challenge among college students at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Some might be experiencing pressures related to overparenting/helicopter parenting (O/H-P) where parents provide excessive support, overprotect their adult children from stressors and exert some control on their lives. Parental “hovering” can put additional pressure on the students and instill a sense of entitlement. The main objectives of the present online survey study were to examine if stress, academic entitlement, and overparenting were positively correlated amongst each other in a sample of college students (N = 258, Mage = 20.31, SDage = 3.82, MGPA = 3.09, SDGPA = 1.08) attending an international college in Greece. In addition, comparisons were conducted to determine differences in stress, academic entitlement, and overparenting among genders and between undergraduate and graduate students. The Perceived Academic Stress (PAS) scale was used to measure academic stress while the Helicopter Parenting Instrument (HPI) was used to measure overparenting. Lastly, the two subscales of the Academic Entitlement Scale -Externalized Responsibility and Entitled Expectations- were used to measure academic entitlement. Results showed that overparenting, academic stress, and academic entitlement were all positively correlated with each other. Males experienced slightly more overparenting compared to females and both genders experience similar levels of academic stress and academic entitlement. Undergraduate and graduate students were similar on all three variables. Lastly, overparenting and externalized responsibility were found to predict academic stress. Recommendations for future research should look at specific stressors in Greek and international students studying in Greece.