Influence of Perceived Helicopter Parenting, Critical Thinking Disposition, Cognitive Ability, and Learning Motivation on Learning Behavior among Nursing Students

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of perceived helicopter parenting, critical thinking disposition, cognitive ability, and learning motivation on learning behavior in nursing students in South Korea. The participants in this study were 149 sophomore nursing students from two universities using convenience sampling. The two universities were similar in terms of type, curricula, and size. Data were collected from October to November 2017 using self-reported questionnaires. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, and hierarchical multiple regression with SPSS 22.0. The mean score of perceived helicopter parenting was 3.06 ± 0.65 out of six points. The levels of critical thinking disposition, cognitive ability, learning motivation, and learning behavior were medium. Factors affecting learning behavior were learning motivation (β = 0.40, p < 0.001), cognitive ability (β = 0.26, p = 0.001), and critical thinking disposition (β = 0.25, p = 0.001). These variables explained 32% of the variance in learning behavior (F = 18.21, p < 0.001). Teaching methods are necessary to increase the critical thinking disposition and learning competence of nursing students. In addition, it is important to consider the learning motivation of nursing students for effective learning.

Perceived Helicopter Parenting and Korean Emerging Adults' Psychological Adjustment: The Mediational Role of Parent-Child Affection and Pressure from Parental Career Expectations

Examining helicopter parenting in a Confucian culture that values parental authority and involvement can extend previous helicopter parenting research that has mostly focused on a U.S. college student context. In this study, we aim to help clarify the mixed results in the literature regarding the psychological outcomes of helicopter parenting in emerging adulthood by examining the processes underlying the relationship between helicopter parenting and psychological adjustment in the Korean context. Using a diverse sample of Korean emerging adults, we investigated the relationships among perceived helicopter parenting, parent-child affection, pressure from parental career expectations, and psychological adjustment (depressive symptoms and life satisfaction). The data came from 562 Korean emerging adults (269 women and 293 men) aged 19-34 years who were either full-time students or unemployed and unmarried and had at least one living parent. The structural equation modeling used in this study revealed that higher levels of helicopter parenting were directly associated with greater depressive symptoms. Higher levels of helicopter parenting also had an indirect relationship with greater depressive symptoms through higher levels of pressure from parental career expectations. However, higher levels of helicopter parenting were indirectly linked to better psychological adjustment (fewer depressive symptoms, greater satisfaction with life) through higher levels of parent-child affection. Our results indicate that in the East Asian context, helicopter parenting could be related to both negative and positive psychological outcomes depending on the mediating factors.