Abstract
Overprotective parenting refers to parents’ provision of developmentally inappropriate protection and is associated with dysfunctional developmental processes and outcomes in adolescence and emerging adulthood. In the present study, we examined whether perceived overprotective parenting is potentially associated with identity synthesis and identity confusion, as the development of a coherent sense of identity is conceived as one of the primary goals of adolescence and emerging adulthood. Thereby, we also tested whether developmentally regulatory strategies of goal engagement and disengagement are intervening variables in the association between overprotective parenting and identity. Participants were 318 Georgian emerging adults (Mage = 23.41, 58% female). Path analyses indicated that perceived overprotective parenting was directly associated with less identity synthesis and more identity confusion. It was found that overprotection was unrelated to goal engagement, but was associated with more goal disengagement. Goal engagement, in turn, was positively associated with identity synthesis and negatively associated with identity confusion, whereas goal disengagement was positively associated with identity confusion. These results suggest that overprotective parenting creates a family context that is negatively associated with the successful resolution of the identity formation task. Goal disengagement, a relatively passive, avoidant developmental strategy, particularly played an intervening role in this association between overprotection and identity confusion.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
References
Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469
Arnett, J. J. (2018). Conceptual Foundations of Emerging Adulthood. In J. L. Murray & J. J. Arnett (Eds.), Emerging Adulthood and Higher Education (pp. 11–24). Routledge.
Asatiani, M., & Verulava, T. (2017). Georgian welfare state: Preliminary study based on Esping-Andersen’s typology. Economics and Sociology, 10(4), 21–28.
Becht, A. I., Nelemans, S. A., Van Dijk, M. P., Branje, S. J., Van Lier, P. A., Denissen, J. J., & Meeus, W. H. (2017). Clear self, better relationships: Adolescents’ self-concept clarity and relationship quality with parents and peers across 5 years. Child Development, 88(6), 1823–1833.
Bogaerts, A., Claes, L., Buelens, T., Verschueren, M., Palmeroni, N., Bastiaens, T., & Luyckx, K. (2021). Identity synthesis and confusion in early to late adolescents: Age trends, gender differences, and associations with depressive symptoms. Journal of Adolescence, 87, 106–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2021.01.006
Bogaerts, A., Claes, L., Schwartz, S. J., Becht, A. I., Verschueren, M., Gandhi, A., & Luyckx, K. (2019). Identity structure and processes in adolescence: Examining the directionality of between-and within-person associations. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48, 891–907. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0931-5
Bosma, H. A., & Kunnen, E. S. (2001). Determinants and mechanisms in ego identity development: A review and synthesis. Developmental Review, 21(1), 39–66. https://doi.org/10.1006/drev.2000.0514
Brenning, K., Soenens, B., Van Petegem, S., & Kins, E. (2017). Searching for the roots of overprotective parenting in emerging adulthood: Investigating the link with parental attachment representations using an Actor Partner Interdependence Model (APIM). Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(8), 2299–2310. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0744-2
Cheung, G. W., & Rensvold, R. B. (2002). Evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 9(2), 233–255. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_5
Chevrier, B., Soenens, B., Zimmermann, G., Skhirtladze, N., & Van Petegem, S. (2023). The psychometric qualities of a short version of the multidimensional overprotective parenting scale. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 20, 550–566. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2022.2079630
Côté, J. E. (2016). The identity capital model: A handbook of theory, methods, and findings. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Sociology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON.
Darlow, V., Norvilitis, J. M., & Schuetze, P. (2017). The relationship between helicopter parenting and adjustment to college. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(8), 2291–2298. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0751-3
Doepke, M., & Zilibotti, F. (2019). Love, Money, and Parenting: How Economics Explains the Way We Raise Our Kids. Princeton University Press.
Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and Society. Norton.
Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and Crisis. Norton.
European Training Foundation (2020). Georgia—Education, Training and Employment Developments. Retrieved May 25, 2022, from https://policycommons.net/artifacts/1932509/georgia/2684279/
Finney, S. J., & DiStefano, C. (2006). Non-normal and categorical data in structural equation modeling. Structural Equation Modeling: A Second Course, 10(6), 269–314.
Flamant, N., Boncquet, M., Van Petegem, S., Haerens, L., Beyers, W., & Soenens, B. (2022). To endure or to resist? Adolescents’ coping with overprotective parenting. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 82, 101444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2022.101444
Grotevant, H. D., & Cooper, C. R. (1985). Patterns of interaction in family relationships and the development of identity exploration in adolescence. Child Development, 56(2), 415–428. https://doi.org/10.2307/1129730
Gugushvili, D. (2017). Lessons from Georgia’s neoliberal experiment: A rising tide does not necessarily lift all boats. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 50(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postcomstud.2016.11.001
Haase, C. M., Heckhausen, J., & Wrosch, C. (2013). Developmental regulation across the life span: Toward a new synthesis. Developmental Psychology, 49, 964–972. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029231
Heckhausen, J. (1997). Developmental regulation across adulthood: Primary and secondary control of age-related challenges. Developmental Psychology, 33(1), 176. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.33.1.176
Heckhausen, J., Schulz, R., & Wrosch, C. (1998). Developmental Regulation in Adulthood: Optimization in Primary and Secondary Control-A Multiscale Questionnaire (OPS-Scales). Technical report.
Heckhausen, J., & Wrosch, C. (2016). Challenges to developmental regulation across the life course: What are they and which individual differences matter? International Journal of Behavioral Development, 40(2), 145–150. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025415588796
Heckhausen, J., Wrosch, C., & Schulz, R. (2010). A motivational theory of life-span development. Psychological Review, 117, 32–60. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017668
Holmbeck, G. N. (1997). Toward terminological, conceptual, and statistical clarity in the study of mediators and moderators: Examples from the child clinical and pediatric psychology literatures. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 4, 599–610. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.65.4.599
Holmbeck, G. N., Johnson, S. Z., Wills, K. E., McKernon, W., Rose, B., Erklin, S., & Kemper, T. (2002). Observed and perceived parental overprotection in relation to psychosocial adjustment in preadolescents with a physical disability: The mediational role of behavioral autonomy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70, 96–110. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-006x.70.1.96
Hong, P., & Cui, M. (2020). Helicopter parenting and college students’ psychological maladjustment: The role of self-control and living arrangement. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29(2), 338–347. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01541-2
Howard, J. M., Nicholson, B. C., & Chesnut, S. R. (2019). Relationships between positive parenting, overparenting, grit, and academic success. Journal of College Student Development, 60(2), 189–202. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2019.0018
Kalomiris, A. E., & Kiel, E. J. (2016). Maternal anxiety and physiological reactivity as mechanisms to explain overprotective primiparous parenting behaviors. Journal of Family Psychology, 30(7), 791–801. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000237
Kins, E., & Beyers, W. (2010). Failure to launch, failure to achieve criteria for adulthood? Journal of Adolescent Research, 25(5), 743–777. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558410371126
Kins, E., Soenens, B., & Beyers, W. (2011). “Why do they have to grow up so fast?” Parental separation anxiety and emerging adults’ pathology of separation-individuation. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 67(7), 647–664. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20786
Kins, E., & Soenens, B. (2013). Generation me and its helicopter parents: A study on parental overprotection in adolescence. Paper presented at the 16th European Conference of Developmental Psychology, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Koepke, S., & Denissen, J. J. (2012). Dynamics of identity development and separation-individuation in parent-child relationships during adolescence and emerging adulthood: A conceptual integration. Developmental Review, 32, 67–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2012.01.001
Körner, A., Lechner, C. M., Pavlova, M. K., & Silbereisen, R. K. (2015). Goal engagement in coping with occupational uncertainty predicts favorable career-related outcomes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 88, 174–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2015.03.001
Kouros, C. D., Pruitt, M. M., Ekas, N. V., Kiriaki, R., & Sunderland, M. (2017). Helicopter parenting, autonomy support, and college students’ mental health and well-being: The moderating role of sex and ethnicity. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(3), 939–949. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0614-3
Kwon, K. A., Yoo, G., & Bingham, G. E. (2016). Helicopter parenting in emerging adulthood: Support or barrier for Korean college students’ psychological adjustment? Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25(1), 136–145. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0195-6
Lindell, A. K., Campione-Barr, N., & Killoren, S. E. (2017). Implications of parent-child relationships for emerging adults’ subjective feelings about adulthood. Journal of Family Psychology, 31(7), 810–820. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000328
Love, H., May, R. W., Shafer, J., Fincham, F. D., & Cui, M. (2022). Overparenting, emotion dysregulation, and problematic internet use among female emerging adults. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 79, 101376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2021.101376
Luyckx, K., Vansteenkiste, M., Goossens, L., & Duriez, B. (2009). Basic need satisfaction and identity formation: Bridging selfdetermination theory and process-oriented identity research. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56, 276–288. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015349
Manzi, C., Vignoles, V. L., Regalia, C., & Scabini, E. (2006). Cohesion and enmeshment revisited: Differentiation, identity, and well-being in two European cultures. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68(3), 673–689. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2006.00282.x
Mathijs, L., Mouton, B., Zimmermann, G., & Van Petegem, S. (2023). Overprotective parenting and social anxiety in adolescents: The role of emotion regulation. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075231173722
McGinley, M. (2018). Can hovering hinder helping? Examining the joint effects of helicopter parenting and attachment on prosocial behaviors and empathy in emerging adults. Journal of Genetic Psychology: Research and Theory on Human Development, 179(2), 102–115. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221325.2018.1438985
Mestvirishvili, N., & Mestvirishvili, M. (2014). Emancipative values in Georgia: An individual level analysis. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 47(1), 71–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postcomstud.2014.01.005
Muthén, B., & Muthén, L. (2017). Mplus. Chapman and Hall/CRC.
Munich, R. L., & Munich, M. A. (2009). Overparenting and the narcissistic pursuit of attachment. Psychiatric Annals. https://doi.org/10.3928/00485713-20090401-04
Omanadze, S., Gachechiladze, N., Lebanidze, A., & Chachanidze, S. (2017). Generation in Transition: Youth Study 2016. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
Pelletier, L. G., Fortier, M. S., Vallerand, R. J., & Briere, N. M. (2001). Associations among perceived autonomy support, forms of self-regulation, and persistence: A prospective study. Motivation and Emotion, 25(4), 279–306. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014805132406
Pinquart, M., Silbereisen, R. K., & Koerner, A. (2009). Perceived work-related demands associated with social change, control strategies, and psychological well-being: Do associations vary by regional economic conditions? Evidence from Germany. European Psychologist, 14(3), 207–219. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040.14.3.207
Rosenthal, D. A., Gurney, R. M., & Moore, S. M. (1981). From trust on intimacy: A new inventory for examining Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 10(6), 525–537.
Scabini, E., & Manzi, C. (2011). Family Processes and Identity. In S. J. Schwartz, K. Luyckx, & V. Vignoles (Eds.), Handbook of Identity Theory and Research. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7988-9_23
Schachter, E. P., & Ventura, J. J. (2008). Identity agents: Parents as active and reflective participants in their children’s identity formation. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 18(3), 449–476. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2008.00567.x
Schiffrin, H. H., Erchull, M. J., Sendrick, E., Yost, J. C., Power, V., & Saldanha, E. R. (2019). The effects of maternal and paternal helicopter parenting on the self-determination and well-being of emerging adults. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28(12), 3346–3359. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01513-6
Schiffrin, H. H., & Liss, M. (2017). The effects of helicopter parenting on academic motivation. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(5), 1472–1480. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0658-z
Schiffrin, H. H., Liss, M., Miles-McLean, H., Geary, K. A., Erchull, M. J., & Tashner, T. (2014). Helping or hovering? The effects of helicopter parenting on college students’ well-being. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 23(3), 548–557. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-013-9716-3
Schwartz, S. H. (2006). Basic human values: Theory, measurement, and applications. Revue Française De Sociologie, 47(4), 249–288.
Schwartz, S. J. (2016). Turning point for a turning point: Advancing emerging adulthood theory and research. Emerging Adulthood, 4(5), 307–317. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696815624640
Schwartz, S. J., Hardy, S. A., Zamboanga, B. L., Meca, A., Waterman, A. S., Picariello, S., & Forthun, L. F. (2015). Identity in young adulthood: Links with mental health and risky behavior. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 36, 39–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2014.10.001
Schwartz, S. J., Zamboanga, B. L., Luyckx, K., Meca, A., & Ritchie, R. A. (2013). Identity in emerging adulthood: Reviewing the field and looking forward. Emerging Adulthood, 1(2), 96–113. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696813479781
Schwartz, S. J., Zamboanga, B. L., Wang, W., & Olthuis, J. V. (2009). Measuring identity from an Eriksonian perspective: Two sides of the same coin? Journal of Personality Assessment, 91(2), 143–154. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223890802634266
Segrin, C., Woszidlo, A., Givertz, M., & Montgomery, N. (2013). Parent and child traits associated with overparenting. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 32(6), 569–595. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2013.32.6.569
Shubladze, R., Sichinava, D., & Khistaria, T. (2023). Youth Study Generation of independent Georgia: In Between Hopes and Uncertainties. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.
Skhirtladze, N., Javakhishvili, N., Syed, M., Klimstra, T., Schwartz, S. J., & Luyckx, K. (2022). Identity trajectories and narratives during the transition out of undergraduate education among Georgian emerging adults. Developmental Psychology, 58(12), 2372–2387. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001440
Skhirtladze, N., Luyckx, K., & Schwartz, S. J. (2021). Longitudinal associations between identity processes and goal engagement and disengagement: Directionality of effects and correlated change. Social Development, 30(3), 833–849. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12502
Skhirtladze, N., Van Petegem, S., Javakhishvili, N., Schwartz, S. J., & Luyckx, K. (2019). Motivation and psychological need fulfillment on the pathway to identity resolution. Motivation and Emotion, 43(6), 894–905. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-019-09795-5
Thomasgard, M., Metz, W. P., Edelbrock, C., & Shonkoff, J. P. (1995). Parent-child relationship disorders: I. Parental overprotection and the development of the Parent Protection Scale. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 16, 244–250. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004703-199508000-00006
van Doeselaar, L., Becht, A. I., Klimstra, T. A., & Meeus, W. H. J. (2018). A review and integration of three key components of identity development: Distinctiveness, coherence, and continuity. European Psychologist, 23(4), 278–288. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000334
Van Petegem, S., Albert Sznitman, G., Darwiche, J., & Zimmermann, G. (2022). Putting parental overprotection into a family systems context: Relations of overprotective parenting with perceived coparenting and adolescent anxiety. Family Process, 61, 792–807. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12709
Van Petegem, S., Antonietti, J. P., Eira Nunes, C., Kins, E., & Soenens, B. (2020). The relationship between maternal overprotection, adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems, and psychological need frustration: A multi-informant study using response surface analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 49(1), 162–177. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01126-8
Vignoles, V. L., Schwartz, S. J., & Luyckx, K. (2011). Introduction: Toward an integrative view of identity. In S. J. Schwartz, K. Luyckx, & V. L. Vignoles (Eds.), Handbook of Identity Theory and Research (pp. 1–27). Springer.
Wang, Y., & Hawk, S. T. (2023). Adolescent-mother agreements and discrepancies in reports of helicopter parenting: Associations with perceived conflict and support. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 52, 2480–2493. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-023-01831-5
Wen, B., Zhang, M., Zhang, L., Zhou, Y., & Xu, L. (2023). How over-parenting impedes individual career exploration: A goal disengagement perspective. BMC Psychology, 11(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-023-01163-w
Willoughby, B. J., Hersh, J. N., Padilla-Walker, L. M., & Nelson, L. J. (2015). ‘Back off’! Helicopter parenting and a retreat from marriage among emerging adults. Journal of Family Issues, 36(5), 669–692. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X13495854
Wrosch, C., Bauer, I., & Scheier, M. F. (2005). Regret and quality of life across the adult life span: The influence of disengagement and available future goals. Psychology and Aging, 20(4), 657–670. https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.20.4.657
Wuyts, D., Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., Van Petegem, S., & Brenning, K. (2017). The role of separation anxiety in mothers’ use of autonomy support: An observational study. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(7), 1949–1957. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0707-7
Yakhnich, L. (2016). This is my responsibility: Parental experience of former Soviet Union immigrant parents in Israel. International Journal of Child, Youth, and Family Studies, 7, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.18357/ijcyfs
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Ethical Approval
This research was done following the ethical, methodological, and privacy standards of the code of conduct for research at Ilia State University, Georgia. Participants completed informed consent prior to participation and were informed of their rights to leave the study at any time. Ethical approval was granted by the Institutional Review board at Ilia State University.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Skhirtladze, N., Van Petegem, S. Perceived Overprotective Parenting and Identity Synthesis and Confusion in Georgian Emerging Adults: The Intervening Role of Goal Engagement and Disengagement. J Adult Dev (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-024-09475-w
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-024-09475-w