CHRIS SEGRIN University of Arizona ALESIA WOSZIDLO University of Kansas* MICHELLE GIVERTZ California State University, Chico** AMY BAUER University of Arizona*** MELISSA TAYLOR MURPHY Bloomsburg University**** The Association Between Overparenting, Parent-Child Communication, and Entitlement and Adaptive Traits in Adult Children What is colloquially referred to as ‘‘helicopter parenting’’ is a form of overparenting in which parents apply overly involved and developmen- tally inappropriate tactics to their children who are otherwise able to assume adult responsibil- ities and autonomy. Overparenting is hypothe- sized to be associated with dysfunctional family processes and negative child outcomes. Predic- tions were tested on 538 parent-young adult Department of Communication, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (segrin@u.arizona.edu). *Department of Communication Studies, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045. **Communication Arts & Sciences, California State University, Chico, Tehama Hall Room 201, Chico, CA 95929-0502. ***Department of Communication, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721. ****Department of Communication Studies, Bloomsburg University, 400 E. 2nd St., Bloomsburg, PA 17815. Key Words: family interaction, family interactions and communications, interpersonal and family communication, parent-child relations in later life, parenting. child dyads from locations throughout most of the United States. Parents completed a newly developed measure of overparenting as well as family enmenshment, parenting styles, and parent-child communication scales. Young adult children completed measures of parent-child communication, family satisfaction, entitlement, and several adaptive traits. Results showed that overparenting is associated with lower quality parent-child communication and has an indirect effect on lower family satisfaction. Overparent- ing was also a significant predictor of young adult child entitlement, although it was not related to any of the adaptive traits measured in young adult children. ‘‘Helicopter parenting’’ is a colloquial term used to describe overly involved parents who hover over their children, ready to swoop down and resolve any problems that the child might encounter (Cline & Fay, 1990). Even though this parenting practice could theoretically occur at any stage of childhood, it is most often used in reference to parents of late adolescent or young adult children. In recent years, the Family Relations 61 (April 2012): 237 – 252 237 DOI:10.1111/j.1741-3729.2011.00689.x