| This study built on current research related to helicopter parenting, family communication styles, overparenting and the effects on student development. Helicopter parenting is a style of parenting that has gained attention in recent years due to the negative effects on children as they mature to adults. There has been much research that has shown negative consequences such as lack of interpersonal skills, problem solving, anxiety, and neurotic qualities in students of helicopter parents as they matriculate into the real world. This study investigated the relationship between helicopter parenting and students' perceptions of instructor feedback interaction, including judgments regarding the utility of feedback as well as sensitivity to feedback and anxiety about clarity in feedback. Participants in the study were 118 undergraduate students between the ages of 17 and 24 who completed survey measures of helicopter parenting, feedback sensitivity, feedback utility, and anxiety regarding ambiguity. Results indicated that helicopter parenting positively correlated with sensitivity to instructor feedback. However, utility and anxiety did not have a relationship with levels of helicopter parenting. These findings suggest that students find feedback moderately useful, regardless of parenting experiences, but that students may be more sensitive to feedback, suggesting that it may be necessary for instructors to reflect on how feedback communicate to students, specifically feedback that is conflicting to the students point of view. |
