Examining the Relationships between Helicopter Parenting, Self-Control, Self-Efficacy, and Multi-Screen Addiction among Turkish Emerging Adults

Helicopter parenting (HP) has become a common concept in families with young adults. A growing body of literature revealed negative consequences of perceived HP among young adults as its developmentally inappropriate parenting. However, there is still a limitation of an empirical study on the impact of HP on young adults’ technology addiction. Accordingly, this study investigated possible relationships between HP, self-control, self-efficacy, and multi-screen addiction (MSA) among Turkish emerging adults. 556 college students (Mage=21.02) from two major universities in Turkey participated in the study. The results showed that mother helicopter parenting (MHP) and father helicopter parenting (FHP) related to MSA and a low level of self-control but not self-esteem. In addition, the results from a mediation analysis indicated that MHP had an indirect effect on MSA through a low level of self-control. The results of the study confirmed the importance of parenting in MSA among young adults.