Date of Award

Summer 2019

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

School

Psychology

Committee Chair

Bonnie C. Nicholson

Committee Chair School

Psychology

Committee Member 2

Eric R. Dahlen

Committee Member 2 School

Psychology

Committee Member 3

Melanie E. Leuty

Committee Member 3 School

Psychology

Committee Member 4

Richard S. Mohn

Committee Member 4 School

Education

Abstract

Overparenting (OP) has been characterized by parental behaviors that encroach upon children’s ability to develop age-appropriate, autonomous emotional responses and behaviors. OP has been associated with poor mental health, decreased subjective well-being (SWB), and decreased emotional distress tolerance (EDT) in the emerging adult population. The present study investigated relationships between OP, EDT, emotional distress, and SWB. Additionally, the mediating role of EDT, as well as the parallel mediating roles of EDT facets (i.e., appraisal, absorption, tolerance, regulation), were assessed between OP and emotional distress, as well as SWB. Participants included 313 undergraduate psychology students from a mid-sized university in the southeastern United States. Demographic information was gathered, as well as information involving participants’ perceptions of parental involvement and self-reports of emotional distress, SWB, and EDT. In bivariate analyses, OP shared significant, negative associations with EDT, appraisal, tolerance, regulation, while reflecting a significant, positive association with emotional distress. SWB also shared significant, positive relationships with the higher-order construct of EDT, as well as distinct EDT facets, while sharing a significant, negative relationship with emotional distress within the bivariate analyses. While multivariate models did not suggest OP as a predictor of higher-order EDT or its facets, the current findings indicate that OP may be predictive of emotional distress when accounting for reported perceived parental involvement. Furthermore, the present study shows that EDT, as well as two facets of EDT (i.e., appraisal, absorption), may predict emotional distress and SWB when accounting for perceived parental involvement.

ORCID ID

0000-0001-6586-6823

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