Research Journal of College Counseling ■ April 2015 ■ Volume 18 7 © 2015 by the American Counseling Association. All rights reserved. Received 11/16/10 Revised 04/15/12 Accepted 05/04/12 DOI: 10.1002/j.2161-1882.2015.00065.x Helicopter Parenting: The Effect of an Overbearing Caregiving Style on Peer Attachment and Self-Efficacy Daniel J. van Ingen, Stacy R. Freiheit, Jesse A. Steinfeldt, Linda L. Moore, David J. Wimer, Adelle D. Knutt, Samantha Scapinello, and Amber Roberts Helicopter parenting, an observed phenomenon on college campuses, may adversely affect college students. The authors examined how helicopter parenting is related to self-efficacy and peer relationships among 190 undergraduate students ages 16 to 28 years. Helicopter parenting was associated with low self-efficacy, alienation from peers, and a lack of trust among peers. Implications are provided for counselors and psy- chologists in college- and university-based counseling centers to help them to understand and provide assessment and treatment for adult children of helicopter parents. Keywords: helicopter parents, self-efficacy, peer relationships B orn between the early 1980s and early 2000s, millennials have entered college with their parents hovering closely above and managing many areas of their lives (Coomes & DeBard, 2004; Howe & Strauss, 2000; Murray, 1997). These parents have been referred to as helicopter parents, or parents who, like helicopters, stay closely overhead, right above their child. Helicopter parents are rarely out of reach, pay extremely close attention to their child, and rush to prevent any harm, particularly at the adult child’s educational institution (Rainey, 2006). Helicopter parents are in constant contact with their adult children and the school administration. With their adult children, helicopter parents average 10.4 forms of communication (e.g., e-mail, cell phone, text message) per week, leaving those students with weakened autonomy (Hofer, 2008). These parents tend to make academic decisions for their adult children and feel badly about themselves when their adult children do not do well. Helicopter parents became particularly apparent on college campuses in the early 2000s as the millennial generation began reaching college age. Children of the millennial generation are the products of baby boomer parents, who have made child rearing a major focus of their adult lives (Gallo & Gallo, 2001). Baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, are the wealthiest and best educated Daniel J. van Ingen and Linda L. Moore, Chrestomathy, Inc., Eden Prairie, Minnesota; Stacy R. Freiheit, Department of Psychology, Augsburg College; Jesse A. Steinfeldt, Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, Indiana University–Bloomington; David J. Wimer, Department of Psychology, Kutztown University; Adelle D. Knutt, private practice, Stratford, Ontario, Canada; Samantha Scapinello, private practice, Burlington, Ontario, Canada; Amber Roberts, University Counseling Center, Grand Valley State University. Daniel J. van Ingen is now in private practice, Sarasota, Florida. David J.Wimer is now at Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Daniel J. van Ingen, 5602 Marquesas Circle #102-7, Sarasota, FL 34233 (e-mail: danieljvaningen@gmail.com).