Nearly every college student has heard horror stories about the stereotypical overprotective parents who call their child three times a day, argue with professors over grades and report roommates to the resident assistant.
In recent years, popular opinion has maintained that such behavior is harmful to students, hindering their ability to function independently at college, but a new survey suggests these "helicopter parents" have a positive effect on their children's college experiences.
The survey, conducted by the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), found that students whose parents were heavily involved in their lives at college reported a better overall college experience and engaged more frequently in "deep learning activities."
"Most of what is said [about helicopter parents] is based on anecdotes and observations. These kinds of observations have often had a negative connotation," said survey director George Kuh, an Indiana University professor. "We wanted to find out whether or not this was the case -- if this somehow diminished educationally purposeful activities."
This year 9,812 students answered questions about their parents' involvement in their lives at college in the NSSE survey.
Seven out of 10 students reported frequent contact with their parents; 13 percent of first-year students and 8 percent of seniors said their parents "frequently intervened on their behalf to help them solve problems they were having at the college," according to the survey.
The same students also reported "higher levels of engagement and frequent use of deep learning activities" and "greater satisfaction with the college experience."
Though students who said their parents were highly engaged in their lives had deep learning experiences, they also had significantly lower grades.
"This is pure speculation, but maybe one of the reasons parents were more involved in their students' lives [is because] they wanted to be sure they would do better," Kuh said.
Reactions to the survey have been mixed.
"On the whole, I thought the findings were of interest, for the most part reaffirming our mission," said James Boyle, president of College Parents of America, an organization comprising parents of current and future college students. "It's gratifying to that extent."
However, he cautioned parents against becoming too involved in their children's lives.
Helen Johnson, author of Don't Tell Me What to Do, Just Send Money, a book on relationships between parents and children in college, said the academic successes cited in the study were not the only aspect of a positive college experience.
"The issue for me is that there are a lot more parts to a student than academics," she said. "The task of being a late adolescent is to forge your own unique identity and develop a measure of autonomy."
Some students said they kept in close contact with their parents.
"If my parents called a professor, I would be more than mortified," Matt Reed (senior-communication arts and sciences) said. "I would never do that as a parent."
Jonida Shegani (junior-journalism) her parents don't intervene in her life at college.
"We shouldn't have our parents reminding us to finish assignments," she said. "That's like middle school. This is college."
