PhD, Psychology, University of California at Merced, 2022
University of New Hampshire
McNair Scholar, 2014
Major: Psychology
Mentor: Dr. Samuel E. Paul and Dr. David Pillemer, Department of Psychology
Research Topic: Overparenting: A Cross-Cultural Analysis
Overparenting: A Cross-Cultural Analysis
We propose to study the effects that overparenting has on students of different cultures using The Intergenerational Support Index as well as memory narratives. Parenting styles have been shown to correlate directly with how successful a child becomes in the future. An effective parenting style is necessary to teach children how to effectively cope and manage on their own. Overparenting has been associated with various negative consequences in young adults. However, the research that has been done in this area has been geared towards European-American families who are part of an individualistic culture. Collectivist culture values community over individual achievements and children in this culture may therefore require more support then those of individualistic cultures. In order to look more closely at what exactly overparenting entails in other cultures, we will be using the Intergenerational Support Index which will make clear what supports are being offered by parents to their children. We will also look into the memory narrative that each participant provides to determine whether overparenting has positive or negative connotations. Both the type of support and memory recalled will be compared across cultures. We expect to find differences between individualistic and collectivistic cultures on the types of support offered by parents. We also expect young adults from collectivist cultures to have more positive memories of overparenting than those from individualistic cultures.
